European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 7, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Or. David Leckrone senior project scientist at the Goddard space flight Center in Green Bette md., holds a replica of a corrective Mirror that astronauts with install1hubble�?Ts fix it Crow spac0 Walters All veterans of past shuttle full hts the Hubble Telescope is shown being deployed in april 1990 in a photo taken from the Preby Earl Lane new Day Ith his a shucks manner and penchant for philosophical musings on everything from tractor repair to extraterrestrial intelligence f. Story Musgrave stands out in an astronaut corps not noted for its free  age 58, Musgrave is one of Nasa s most experienced astronauts and the spiritual Leader of the High profile Hubble space Telescope repair Mission that got under Way thursday. He has spent 598 hours in space on four previous missions including a 1983 shuttle flight in which he and a colleague were the first to use a new suit for space walks outside the shuttle. And he Learned of the dangers of space firsthand earlier this year when he suffered frostbite on eight fingers while handling Hubble repair tools in a refrigerated vacuum chamber used for training at the Johnson space Center in Houston Quot i was feeling it Quot Musgrave said during a recent interview. His hands became so numb it was difficult for him to judge the extent of his injury he said. The National aeronautics and space administration has since added More insulation to the spacesuit gloves. Of More concern now for Musgrave is the Type of injuries that can happen to a spacecraft such As Hubble in the harsh environment of space. Micro meteorites can damage fixtures bolts can become Brittle from radiation. Quot space has its own Way of corroding things Quot Musgrave said. Quot things get really chewed  a while Nasa engineers have compiled a 3-foot stack of contingency plans for unexpected occurrences during the repair Mission it is the Little things a a Frozen Bolt that must be Cut out a that have been worrying Musgrave and his colleagues. The endeavour Crew members say they Are Well aware of the stakes of the repair Mission and the Public expectations particularly in the Wake of the lost Mars observer probe and other difficulties. Quot it concentrates the focus on us Quot Musgrave said. A it s not  but in space Musgrave said the focus must be narrowly on the task at hand. One misstep by Musgrave in removing the cover from the Small delicately aligned Mirror on a new camera to be installed on Hubble for example and it will be a Long ride Back to the shuttle Landing strip. Musgrave As payload commander on the flight is determined to shield his fellow space walkers from any distractions a including from Nasa ground controllers. Quot any kind of harassment or distractions which come to you by the Bushel. I m the one that gets them Quot Musgrave said Quot i try to take them and Deal with  not that his colleagues need much coddling. All Are veterans of past shuttle flights. Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman 49, who worked As an a Ray astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of technology before joining Nasa is to team up with Musgrave on the first third and fifth of the planned space walks during the demanding Hubble Mission. That has earned them the nickname the Quot Odd  Tom Akers 42, and Kathryn Thornton 41, Are the Quot even couple Quot and Are to make space walks two and four. They worked together on the dramatic Rescue last year of the errant Intelsat satellite. Thornton said she Learned not to attempt too much or to try to hurry the Job. Quot if you re wondering on the ground what s taking so Long it s that we have to be careful Quot she says. Quot it s not so important How fast we get the Job done but it s very important that we do it right and  Hoffman is an enthusiastic scientist who says that he does t mind being relegated to the Roe of maintenance technician for. The Complex Hubble instrument. While Hoffman has not Ben doing Active astronomical observations lately he retains a scholarly View of the value of the space Telescope both with its flawed Mirror and in the upgraded condition he and his colleagues Hope to leave it Quot this is a dream Mission for me Quot. Hoffman said. Quot some of it is just an emotional satisfaction Quot in giving his earthbound colleagues a better tool with which to probe the galaxies. 1 a the Rescue Crew front from left Pilot a specialist Jeffrey Hoffman commander j from left Mission specialists Kathyrn Thi Claude is Collier and Tom Akers. 18 the stars and stripes i f