Story Musgrave

Story Musgrave
Name	Story Musgrave
Caption	Musgrave in 1991
Birth name	Franklin Story Musgrave
Birth date	19 August 1935
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Astronaut, Surgeon, Test pilot
Selection	NASA Group 6 (1967)
Time	53d 9h 55m
Mission	STS-6, STS-51-F, STS-33, STS-44, STS-61, STS-80

Story Musgrave. Franklin Story Musgrave is a retired NASA astronaut, Marine, test pilot, and surgeon, renowned for his unparalleled academic background and his critical role in repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. A veteran of six Space Shuttle missions, he performed the first Space Shuttle spacewalk and served as the lead spacewalker on the historic STS-61 servicing mission. His career uniquely blends expertise in mathematics, computer science, chemistry, medicine, and literature.

Early life and education

Born in Boston, he grew up on a farm in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, developing an early interest in machinery. He dropped out of high school to enlist but later pursued an extraordinary academic path. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and statistics from Syracuse University, followed by an MBA in operations analysis and computer programming from the University of California, Los Angeles. His medical training includes a M.D. from Columbia University and a Master of Science in physiology and biophysics from the University of Kentucky. He also completed a Master of Arts in literature from the University of Houston.

Military service

Musgrave joined the United States Marine Corps in 1953, serving as an aviation electrician and instrument technician before becoming a Marine pilot. He flew over 17,700 hours in more than 160 different types of civilian and military aircraft, including fighters, helicopters, and gliders. His military career provided foundational technical and piloting skills that directly supported his later work as a NASA test pilot and researcher in aerospace medicine.

NASA career

Selected as a scientist-astronaut in 1967, his work at NASA spanned multiple disciplines. He served as a spacecraft communicator for Skylab and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. At the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, he contributed to the design and development of the Space Shuttle program, focusing on spacesuits, extravehicular activity systems, and payload bay configurations. His research in physiology at the NASA Ames Research Center further cemented his role as a premier expert in human adaptation to spaceflight.

Spaceflights

A veteran of six Space Shuttle missions, Musgrave first flew as a mission specialist on STS-6 in 1983, performing the program's inaugural spacewalk from Challenger. He served on the Spacelab-2 mission STS-51-F, a dedicated science flight. He later flew on STS-33 and STS-44, both Department of Defense missions. His most famous flight was as the lead spacewalker on STS-61 in 1993, the first servicing mission that successfully repaired the Hubble Space Telescope's flawed optics. His final flight was on STS-80 in 1996.

Post-NASA career and legacy

After retiring from NASA in 1997, Musgrave pursued a multifaceted career as a public speaker, consultant, and professor. He has worked with various corporations and universities, including Disney and Applied Minds. His legacy is defined by his status as the only astronaut to fly on all five Space Shuttle orbiters and his instrumental role in saving the Hubble Space Telescope, which revolutionized astronomy. He is also celebrated for embodying the "Renaissance man" ideal within the astronaut corps.

Personal life

He has been married five times and is the father of seven children. An avid parachutist, he has over 800 free-fall jumps. His diverse personal interests include poetry, gardening, photography, and computer programming. He continues to lecture extensively on topics ranging from space exploration and leadership to environmental sustainability.

Category:American astronauts Category:NASA astronauts Category:1935 births Category:Living people