September 2, 1997

Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

Release: 97-188

Astronaut Story Musgrave Retires From NASA

Veteran astronaut F. Story Musgrave retired from NASA today to pursue private interests in the communications industry.

Musgrave’s NASA career spanned the Apollo era to the Space Shuttle program into initial development of spacewalk strategies for the International Space Station.

"Throughout the Shuttle program, from its earliest stages to the present, Story has been instrumental in developing the techniques crew members use to perform spacewalks," said David C. Leestma, director of Flight Crew Operations. "His knowledge, expertise and friendship will be sorely missed."

Musgrave, 62, joined NASA in 1967 and is a veteran of six Space Shuttle flights, having spent more than 1,281 hours in space. He first flew on STS-6 in 1983, the maiden voyage of Challenger. During that flight Musgrave and fellow astronaut Don Peterson conducted the first spacewalk of the Shuttle era. His other Shuttle flights include STS-51F aboard Challenger in 1985, STS-33 on board Discovery in 1989, STS-44 on Atlantis in 1991, and STS-61, the first Hubble Space Telescope Servicing mission aboard Endeavour in 1991, and finally STS-80 on Columbia in 1996. With STS-80, Musgrave became the oldest person ever to fly in space.

For complete biographical information on Musgrave and other astronauts, see the NASA Internet astronaut biography home page at address: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/.

text-only version of this release