Astronaut Biography: Charles O. Hobaugh

NAME: Charles "Scorch" Owen Hobaugh (Lieutenant Colonel, USMC)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born November 5, 1961 in Bar Harbor, Maine. Married to the former Corinna Lynn Leaman of East Petersburg, Pennsylvania. They have four children. He enjoys weight lifting, volleyball, boating, water skiing, snow skiing, soccer, bicycling, running, rowing, triathlons. His parents, Jimmie and Virginia Hobaugh, reside in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Her parents, Jerry and Dottie Leaman, reside in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania.

EDUCATION: Graduated from North Ridgeville High School, North Ridgeville Ohio, in 1980; received a Bachelor of Science degree Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1984.

ORGANIZATIONS: U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Graduate U.S. Naval Academy, Joe Foss Award for Advanced Jet Training, Graduated with Distinction U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Awarded the Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, and various other service awards.

EXPERIENCE: Hobaugh received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps from the United States Naval Academy in May 1984. He graduated from the Marine Corps Basic School in December 1984.

After a six month temporary assignment at the Naval Air Systems Command, he reported to Naval Aviation Training Command and was designated a Naval Aviator in February 1987.

He then reported to Marine V/STOL Attack Squadron VMAT-203 for initial AV-8B Harrier Training. Upon completion of this training, he was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron VMA-331 and made overseas deployments to the Western Pacific at MCAS Iwakuni Japan and flew combat missions in the Persian Gulf during Desert Shield/Desert Storm embarked aboard the USS Nassau. While assigned to VMA-331, he attended Marine Aviation Warfare and Tactics Instructor Course and was subsequently assigned as the Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor.

Hobaugh was selected for U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and began the course in June 1991. After graduation in June 1992, he was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate as an AV-8 Project Officer and as the ASTOVL/JAST/JSF Program Officer. While there, he flew the AV-8B, YAV-8B (VSRA) and A-7E.

In July 1994, he went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an Instructor in the Systems Department, where he flew the F-18, T-2, U-6A and gliders. Hobaugh was assigned to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School when he was selected for the astronaut program.

He has logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft and has over 200 V/STOL shipboard landings.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in April 1996, Hobaugh reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Hobaugh was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch.

Projects included Landing and Rollout, evaluator in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, Advanced Projects, Multifunction Electronics Display Enhancements, Advanced Cockpit and Cockpit Upgrade, Rendezvous and Close Proximity Operations and Visiting Vehicles prior to his first flight assignment. Most recently, he served as Capsule Communicator, working in the Mission Control Center as the voice to the crew. Currently, he is assigned as pilot on STS-118, scheduled for launch in 2007.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Hobaugh was assigned to, and flew as Pilot on STS-104 (July 12-24, 2001). This mission was the 10th mission to the International Space Station (ISS). During the 13-day flight the crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 2 crew and performed three spacewalks to install the joint airlock "Quest" and to outfit it with four high-pressure gas tanks. The mission was accomplished in 200 Earth orbits, traveling 5.3 million miles in 306 hours and 35 minutes.

Last Updated: May 2006