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Eileen Marie Collins (born 19 November 1956) is a retired NASA
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
and United States Air Force (USAF) colonel. A former flight instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle and the first to command a Space Shuttle mission. A graduate of Corning Community College, where she earned an associate degree in mathematics in 1976, and
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics in 1978, Collins was commissioned as an officer in the USAF through Syracuse's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. She was one of four women chosen for Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. After earning her pilot wings, she stayed on at Vance for three years as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot before transitioning to the C-141 Starlifter at Travis Air Force Base, California. During the American invasion of Grenada in October 1983, her aircraft flew troops of the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina to
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
, and took thirty-six medical students back. From 1986 to 1989, she was an assistant professor in mathematics and a T-41 instructor pilot at the
U.S. Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Unit ...
in Colorado. She earned a Master of Science degree in operations research from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1986, and a Master of Arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989. That year, she became the second woman pilot to attend the USAF Test Pilot School, and she graduated with class 89B. In 1990, Collins was selected to be a pilot astronaut with
NASA Astronaut Group 13 NASA Astronaut Group 13 (the Hairballs) was a group of 23 astronauts announced by NASA on 17 January 1990. The group name came from its selection of a black cat as a mascot, to play against the traditional unlucky connotations of the number 13. ...
. She flew the Space Shuttle as pilot in 1995 aboard STS-63, which involved a space rendezvous between and the Russian space station '' Mir''. She was also the pilot for STS-84 in 1997. She became the first woman to command a US spacecraft with STS-93, launched in July 1999, which deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and in 2005 she commanded
STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 Eastern Time Zone, EDT (14:39 Coordinated ...
, NASA's "return to flight" mission after the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster, to test safety improvements and resupply the International Space Station (ISS). During this mission she became the first astronaut to fly the orbiter through a complete 360-degree pitch maneuver so astronauts aboard the ISS could take photographs of the orbiter's belly to ensure there was no threat from debris-related damage during re-entry. She retired from the USAF in January 2005 with the rank of colonel, and from NASA in May 2006.


Early life

Eileen Marie Collins was born in
Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...
, on 19 November 1956. Her parents were James Edward Collins and his wife Rose Marie O'Hara. Her ancestors came to America in the mid-1800s, settling in Pennsylvania and Elmira, New York. She has three siblings: an older brother, Edward; a younger sister, Margaret; and a younger brother, James. Her father served in the US Navy in the
Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
during World War II. After the war he managed the family bar, then became a
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother took a job as a stenographer at the Elmira Correctional Facility. As a child, she was shy and needed speech therapy for her stutter. She participated in Girl Scouts, and attended the El-Ne-Ho summer camp. She expressed an interest in becoming a pilot, reading books such as '' Fate Is the Hunter'' and '' God Is My Co-Pilot'', and subscribing to '' Air Force Magazine''. Collins attended St. Patrick's School in Elmira up to the
eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...
and then Notre Dame High School, a Catholic high school, but was unhappy there. The family home was badly damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes in June 1972, and with finances tight, she was able to convince her mother to allow her to transfer to Elmira Free Academy, a public high school. After graduating from Elmira Free Academy in 1974, Collins considered enlisting in the US Air Force, but her father was adamantly opposed. Instead, she attended Corning Community College, where she earned an associate degree in mathematics in 1976. She then entered
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, which she chose because it had an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program. In 1975, the United States Air Force (USAF) changed its policy to allow women to train as pilots, although only for non-combat missions. The first ten women chosen for pilot training in September 1976 were all serving Air Force officers with four-year college degrees. They graduated in September 1977. Collins noted their names and followed their progress and subsequent careers with interest, hoping to soon follow in their footsteps. Six weeks after graduating from Corning, Collins reported to Rickenbacker Air Force Base for her basic training. In 1976, women had different fitness standards from the men, but Collins was granted permission to do the morning run with the men, who had to run in less than 12 minutes. The training included classes on the history of the USAF and the theory of flight, a ride in a Fairchild C-123 Provider and a flight in a Cessna T-37 Tweet with an instructor. She took flying lessons in a Cessna 150 at Elmira Corning Regional Airport, eventually flying solo, but did not have time to complete all the requirements for a private pilot license. In January 1978, Collins received orders to report to
Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...
upon graduation from Syracuse, where she would become a computer systems engineer, a logical assignment for a mathematics major. Before this could occur, the Syracuse AFROTC commander, Colonel Vernon Hagen, informed her that the USAF was now accepting up to ten women from AFROTC programs for pilot training, and offered to put her name forward for this. Collins eagerly accepted this offer, but a physical examination at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base revealed that although she had 20/20 visual acuity in her right eye, she had only 20/25 in the left, leading to her being rejected. Hagen told her to rest her eyes, and ordered a re-test, which she passed. She graduated later that year with a bachelor of arts in mathematics and economics.


Air Force career

Upon graduation from Syracuse, Collins was commissioned as a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the USAF. She received orders to report to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for the Flight Screening Program (FSP) In August 1978. She was one of four women in the class; there were ten men. The purpose of the FSP was to screen out unsuitable pilots before sending them to the more expensive Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) program. Collins was almost eliminated on medical grounds due to her left eye and a suspected heart murmur, but was cleared to fly. Training flights were conducted from nearby
Hondo Municipal Airport South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4  km) northwest of the central business district of Hondo, a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is owned by the City of Hondo and wa ...
in
Cessna T-41 Mescalero The Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the popular Cessna 172, operated by the United States Air Force and Army, as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a pilot-training aircraft. Design and development In 1964, ...
aircraft. For her UPT, Collins requested that she be assigned to Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, where the first ten women had trained, but the USAF personnel office decided to send her to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. There were three other women in her class, 79–08. She decorated her helmet with the logo E = mc2, an allusion to both her initials and Albert Einstein's
mass–energy equivalence In physics, mass–energy equivalence is the relationship between mass and energy in a system's rest frame, where the two quantities differ only by a multiplicative constant and the units of measurement. The principle is described by the physicis ...
equation. Flight training was conducted in the T-37 Tweet. On 24 November 1978, she became the first member of her class to fly solo. The second phase of instruction began in March 1979 in the Northrop T-38 Talon, a jet trainer. She received her pilot wings at the conclusion of this training, and was selected to become a flight instructor. There remained some training before she could join an operational unit. First, there was a week of
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a training program, best known by its military acronym, that prepares U.S. military personnel, U.S. Department of Defense civilians, and private military contractors to survive and "return ...
training. The top-ranking members of the class went on to fly single-pilot aircraft, while the others became co-pilots. But most single-pilot aircraft were combat aircraft, which woman could not yet fly, so she stayed on at Vance as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot. This involved four weeks of Pilot Instructor Training (PIT), which was conducted at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. She was the first woman to become a T-38 instructor pilot, and only woman flight instructor at Vance between September 1979 and December 1982. Now a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, Collins set her sights on becoming an
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
. To achieve this goal, she aimed to graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School. Entry required at least one year as an aircraft commander in an operational aircraft and over one thousand hours flying time. She had already accumulated over a thousand hours flying as an instructor at Vance, but a trainer is not considered an operational aircraft. She requested an assignment flying the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II or
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...
. But women were still not permitted to fly combat aircraft, so she was assigned to Travis Air Force Base in California, to fly the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, a transport aircraft that had been her 21st choice. She flew long-range missions such as the "Double Diego" run to Diego Garcia via Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii,
Anderson Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...
on Guam, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and then to back to Clark, to Diego Garcia again, and homeward via Singapore, Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa, Yokota Air Force Base in Japan and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. She also flew the "coral run" to
Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
, Wake Island,
Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...
and
Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
, and to European destinations in Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom in support of the annual Reforger exercises. During the American invasion of Grenada in October 1983, her aircraft flew troops of the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina to
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
, and took thirty-six medical students back. Although women were not supposed to fly in combat, the USAF gave her combat pay for the mission, and awarded her the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. After nine months as a co-pilot, she was upgraded to first pilot. After attending aircraft commander school at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and
aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
training, she was upgraded to aircraft commander in June 1984. From August 1986 to June 1989, Collins was assigned to the Air Force Academy in Colorado, where she was an assistant professor in mathematics, teaching courses on calculus and linear algebra, and a T-41 instructor pilot. Through the Air Force Institute of Technology, she earned a Master of Science in operations research from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1986, and a Master of Arts in space systems management from Webster University in 1989. She had begun dating a fellow C-141 pilot, James P. (Pat) Youngs, in August 1983. Youngs was also posted to the Air Force Academy, as a golf instructor. They were married on 1 August 1987. Youngs eventually left the USAF to fly as a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines, thereby giving himself the flexibility to follow Collins as her career progressed. Earning an advanced degree improved her chances of being selected for the USAF Test Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
in California, but USAF rules required officers to pay back their tuition by serving with the duty assignment that provided the funding. This meant that she was supposed to remain at the Air Force Academy for three years. She hoped that this rule would be waived, but her first two applications for the USAF Test Pilot School were rejected on these grounds. When she applied for a third time in 1989, she had been in the USAF for longer than the ten-year maximum allowed before entering the USAF Test Pilot School, but this time a waiver was granted. In the meantime, Captain Jacquelyn Susan "Jackie" Parker became the first woman to graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School in 1988. Collins became the second woman pilot to attend when she joined Class 89B in June 1989. She was also the most senior member of the class, as she was the only one with the rank of
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, which made her the class leader. At Edwards she flew a variety of aircraft, including the Lockheed TR-1,
P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.mission specialists. Because she had not yet graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School, the USAF submitted her application as one for a mission specialist. NASA convened a selection board chaired by the Director of Flight Crew Operations,
Don Puddy Donald Ray Puddy (May 31, 1937November 22, 2004) was a NASA engineer and manager. He joined NASA in 1964, eventually becoming the agency's tenth flight director. His Flight Team colors were Crimson. He served as a flight director during the Apollo ...
, which also included
Carolyn Huntoon Carolyn Leach Huntoon (born August 25, 1940) is an American scientist and former government official. She was the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, a position which she held from 1994 to 1996, and was the first woman in th ...
, the Director of Life Sciences; Joseph Atkinson, the Chief of Equal Opportunity Programs; and astronauts John Young, Charles Bolden, Hoot Gibson,
Rhea Seddon Margaret Rhea Seddon (born November 8, 1947) is an American surgeon and retired NASA astronaut. After being selected as part of the first group of astronauts to include women in 1978, she flew on three Space Shuttle flights: as mission spe ...
, Jerry Ross and Mary Cleave. In September 1989, Collins received a call from Duane Ross, the selection board's administrative officer, inviting her to come to the
Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
(JSC) with the second of five groups of hopefuls for a week of interviews, examinations, medical evaluations and orientation, commencing on 2 October 1989. Once again, her eyesight proved a problem; she failed the depth perception test, but the doctor allowed her to take an alternative test, which she passed. On 16 January 1990, she saw a note on the message board asking her to call Duane Ross. When she called she was put through to John Young, who informed her that she had been selected. When he asked if she had any questions, she asked if she was to be a pilot or a mission specialist. Young laughed and told her: "Pilot! Yes, pilot. You will be the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle!" Collins's selection as one of the twenty-three
astronaut candidate The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...
s (ASCANs) in
NASA Astronaut Group 13 NASA Astronaut Group 13 (the Hairballs) was a group of 23 astronauts announced by NASA on 17 January 1990. The group name came from its selection of a black cat as a mascot, to play against the traditional unlucky connotations of the number 13. ...
. She reported for duty at JSC on 16 July 1990, after graduating from the USAF Test Pilot School. She knew one other member of the group, who called themselves the "Hairballs", well:
Susan Helms Susan Jane Helms (born February 26, 1958) is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general and NASA astronaut. She was the commander, 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic); and commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Va ...
had been a fellow assistant professor at the Air Force Academy and graduate student at Stanford. Pilot ASCANs honed their skills flying the T-38, an aircraft with which Collins was already familiar. They attended classes on the Space Shuttle and its systems, and trained in a low-fidelity simulator. Land survival training was conducted at
Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned t ...
in Washington, water survival training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, and parachute training at Vance Air Force Base. Although their training was intended to take a year, the ASCANs were moved on to operational roles after nine months. Collins was assigned to Orbiter Systems, with particular responsibility for the Space Shuttle's auxiliary power units. After nine months in this assignment, Collins was sent to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida as an astronaut support person (ASP), also known as a Cape Crusader. This was another routine assignment that astronauts did that help familiarise them with the Space Shuttle's systems and procedures. ASPs handled the checkout of the systems in the hangar and on the launch pad. As members of the KSC closeout crew, they strapped the astronauts into their seats before takeoff, and helped them out again after landing. Collins spent sixteen months as an ASP, assisting with ten Space Shuttle missions between February 1992 and June 1993. After so long away from JSC, her skills in the simulator had become rusty, so the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Hoot Gibson, returned her to JSC for duty as a capsule communicator (CAPCOM).


STS-63

Collins first flew the Space Shuttle as pilot in 1995 aboard STS-63. This was the first time a woman had piloted the Space Shuttle. Delays in the flight schedule meant that she was the second last member of her class to fly in space. Two more women pilots joined the Astronaut Corps in 1995 with
NASA Astronaut Group 15 NASA Astronaut Group 15 ("The Flying Escargot") was a group of 23 NASA astronauts announced on December 8, 1994. Group members adopted ''The Flying Escargot'' as their moniker, in reference to two members of the group being from France. The group ...
: Pamela Melroy and Susan Still. They would be the only other women to pilot the Space Shuttle in its thirty-year history. The STS-63 mission involved a space rendezvous between the and the Russian space station '' Mir''. This was the first time a Space Shuttle made an approach and fly around of ''Mir'', although it did not dock. The crew included a cosmonaut,
Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov (russian: Владимир Георгиевич Титов; born 1 January 1947 in Sretensk, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia) is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spacefli ...
, who had lived on ''Mir'' for a year. He became the second cosmonaut to fly on the Space Shuttle. In preparation for the mission, Collins flew over 500 approaches and landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), a NASA training vehicle that duplicated the Orbiter's approach profile and handling qualities. The crew paid a visit to Russia and visited Star City and aircraft and spacecraft museums in the Moscow area, and sat in the cockpit of the '' Buran'' spacecraft, the Russian equivalent of the Space Shuttle. On Collins' invitation, seven of the surviving members of the Mercury 13 attended the launch on 3 February 1995. A series of thruster burns brought ''Discovery'' into line with ''Mir''. The mission plan called for an approach to no less than of ''Mir'', followed by a flyaround. This was delayed by problems with three of the orbiter's 44 Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, which sprang leaks. Some, like one of the other leaking thrusters, could be shut off, but one, R1U, was required for rendezvous. Eventually all its contents leaked into space and it was safe to approach ''Mir''. In addition to the rendezvous with ''Mir'', ''Discovery'' also carried the
Spacehab module Astrotech Corporation, formerly Spacehab Inc., is a technology incubator headquartered in Austin, Texas. Astrotech uses technology sourced internally and from research institutions, government laboratories, and universities to fund, manage and s ...
and the SPARTAN-204 astronomy satellite. Collins had never experienced airsickness, but felt nauseous. This was remedied by a Phenergan shot, but she only ate Chex on the first three days, eating her dinner for the first time on the fourth. Her responsibilities included running the Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-1 (FGBA-1), a Coca-Cola dispensing machine. Astronauts rated control samples before and after flight. ''Discovery'' landed back at KSC on 11 February 1995, after 8 days, 6 hours and 28 minutes in flight. Soon after returning from space, Collins became pregnant. Her first child, Bridget, was born nine months later.


STS-84

In August 1995, Collins was assigned to her second mission, STS-84. This mission would dock with ''Mir'', leave astronaut Michael Foale behind for a four-month stay, and return with astronaut Jerry Linenger at the conclusion of his stay on ''Mir''. Foale had been with Collins on the STS-63 mission. This time the cosmonaut on the mission would be Yelena Kondakova, who had spent 169 days on ''Mir'' between October 1994 to March 1995 as part of the ''Mir'' EO-17 mission. Collins had glimpsed her during the STS-63 mission. The mission commander, Charles Precourt, spoke Russian fluently. The crew also included a French ESA astronaut, Jean-François Clervoy. The STS-84 mission used the , which had a reputation as the least troublesome Orbiter, and for this mission carried two Spacehab modules instead of just one. In preparation for the mission, Collins completed one hundred hours of Russian language classroom training, but she usually relied on Precourt translating for her. The crew traveled to Star City to study ''Mir''s systems and had dinner at the home of Kondakova and her husband, cosmonaut Valeri Ryumin, now the president of
Energia Energia or Energiya may refer to: * Energia (corporation), or S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, a Russian design bureau and manufacturer ** Energia (rocket), a Soviet rocket designed by the company *Energia (company), a company th ...
, the Russian space agency. ''Atlantis'' lifted off from KSC on 15 May 1997. For Collins, it was the first and only time a launch had occurred without delays. Nor were there any leaking thrusters; ''Atlantis'' docked with ''Mir'' without incident the next day. This time, Collins felt no nausea. Crew members were exchanged, and of equipment, spare parts, experiments and supplies were transferred to ''Mir'', of which was water. Collins spent most of the time filling bags with drinking water. She also carried out a photographic survey of the exterior of ''Mir'' through portholes on ''Mir'' and the overhead windows on ''Atlantis''s flight deck. The Mir EO-23 mission commander, Vasily Tsibliyev produced a small bottle of Courvoisier cognac, and everyone had a couple of sips. Alcohol consumption was banned on the Space Shuttle, but they were on ''Mir''. The rest of the mission was taken up conducting experiments. Collins photographed Comet Hale–Bopp, the brightest comet seen in the sky for many years. ''Atlantis'' returned to KSC on 24 May after a flight lasting 9 days, 23 hours and 20 minutes.


STS-93

The usual practice at this time was for a pilot astronaut to fly two missions as a pilot and then go on to command a mission. Collins had heard of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) and indicated to the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Bob Cabana, that she was interested in flying the mission to deploy it. A few months later, JSC deputy director Jim Wetherbee and director George Abbey informed her that she was to be assigned to the mission, which was designated STS-93. This would be the first time that a woman commanded a Space Shuttle mission, so the official announcement of her assignment was made by the
First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the
Roosevelt Room The Roosevelt Room is a meeting room in the West Wing of the White House, the home and main workplace of the president of the United States. Located in the center of the wing, near the Oval Office, it is named after two related U.S. president ...
of the White House on 5 March 1998, Jeffrey Ashby, a rookie astronaut, was assigned as her pilot. To deploy the AXAF, she had NASA mission specialist astronaut
Cady Coleman Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman (born December 14, 1960) is an American chemist, an engineer, a former United States Air Force colonel, and a retired NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and departed the International ...
and French CNES astronaut Michel Tognini. Originally,
Winston Scott Winston Elliott Scott (born August 6, 1950) is a retired United States Navy Captain and former NASA astronaut. He served as a mission specialist on STS-72 in 1996 and STS-87 in 1997 logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours and 34 minutes in space, in ...
was to be the second mission specialist, but NASA headquarters wanted an astronomer with experience with the inertial upper stage (IUS) that would deploy the AXAF. Steven Hawley was the only available astronaut who met both these requirements. Hawley was a very senior astronaut who had been selected with
NASA Astronaut Group 8 NASA Astronaut Group 8 was a group of 35 astronauts announced on January 16, 1978. It was the first NASA selection since Group 6 in 1967, and was the largest group to that date. The class was the first to include female and minority astronau ...
in 1978, and had helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 and service it in 1996. Collins was apprehensive that Hawley would attempt to command the mission. Her fears proved groundless; Hawley proved to be a fine crew member who offered wisdom and advice but made no attempt to interfere with Collins's command of the mission. The STS-93 mission was not a routine mission. The had to be used because its airlock was inside the crew compartment instead of the payload bay. This meant that it was the only orbiter that could accommodate the AXAF and the IUS. Initially scheduled for January 1999, the launch date was delayed due to an investigation of a failed USAF Titan IV launch using the IUS and problems that were discovered during testing of the AXAF (now named the Chandra X-ray Observatory). This pushed the launch date back to April and then to July, when ''Columbia'' was scheduled for fifteen months' maintenance in
Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...
. Because the AXAF weighed and the IUS weighed , this would be the heaviest payload ever launched by the Space Shuttle. To save weight, the crew was reduced to five members, and consumables to those needed for a five-day mission. This made it the shortest scheduled mission since 1990. Two of the five pairs of tanks holding hydrogen and oxygen for the
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
s were removed, as was the robotic arm, so any problems had to be resolved in the payload bay, as the Chandra could not be retrieved. The large mass affected ''Columbia''s center of gravity, rendering a landing after an emergency abort extremely hazardous. The launch day of 20 July 1999, coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission, so former astronauts
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...
, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were at KSC to watch the launch. Observers also included Hillary Clinton and the United States women's national soccer team, who had recently won the
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...
. The launch countdown proceeded smoothly until ''Columbia''s hazardous gas detection system highlighted an unacceptably high hydrogen concentration in the aft engine compartment, and the countdown was halted less than half a second before the
Space Shuttle main engine The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is currently used on the Space Launch System (SLS). Designed and manufacture ...
s (SSMEs) were to have started. Had this occurred, the engines would have had to be replaced, which would have taken a month, pushing it into the scheduled maintenance window. There was no fuel leak; the sensor was faulty. The launch was rescheduled for two days later. It then had to be postponed a further day due to bad weather. On the third launch attempt, there was a seven-minute delay due to a communications problem, but ''Columbia'' lifted off at last on 23 July. One of the main engine controllers failed during takeoff, and one of the main engines cut out prematurely. As a result, the orbit reached was lower than intended. It could have been much worse; the engine problem was caused by a pin that had come loose and struck the nozzle, rupturing three liquid hydrogen coolant tubes. Had the controller not been faulty, it might have pumped more liquid oxygen and caused the engine to explode. After the flight, faults were found not just in ''Columbia'', but in ''Discovery'' and as well, and the whole Space Shuttle fleet was grounded until December. ''Columbia'' eventually reached the proper orbit and the Chandra X-ray Observatory was successfully deployed. During the remainder of the mission, the crew used the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System (SWUIS) to take ultraviolet images of the Earth, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Collins used the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) to talk to children on amateur radio stations with her call sign KD5EDS. On 27 July, Collins brought ''Columbia'' in for a night landing, the twelfth of the Space Shuttle program. The flight had lasted 4 days, 22 hours and 50 minutes. She was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission. After a flight astronauts usually carried out a publicity tour. Collins appeared with Coleman on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on 16 August. She opened the New York Stock Exchange on 7 January 2000, and appeared on the
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
show on 25 April 2000. She had a miscarriage in November 1999, but a son, Luke, was born in November 2000.


STS-114

After the STS-84 mission, Collins had become the head of the Vehicle Systems Branch of the Astronaut Office, which she had renamed the Spacecraft Systems Branch, as the scope of its work now included the International Space Station (ISS) as well as the Space Shuttle. She relinquished this position on being assigned to command STS-93. After returning from that mission, she became the chief information officer at the Astronaut Office. In that role she automated the scheduling system, an initiative of the new Chief of the Astronaut Office, Charles Precourt. She then became the chief of the Space Shuttle Branch, remaining in this role until November 2000, when she left on maternity leave. On returning to work in January 2001, she became the chief of the Safety Branch, replacing Rick Husband, who left to command the STS-107 mission. In turn, Collins handed over the position to Dom Gorie when she was assigned to command
STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 Eastern Time Zone, EDT (14:39 Coordinated ...
in late 2001. The STS-114 mission involved docking ''Atlantis'' with the ISS to transfer crewmen and supplies. Jim Kelly was assigned as the mission's pilot and Stephen Robinson and Japanese
JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
astronaut Soichi Noguchi were assigned as mission specialists. The mission would take Expedition 7 to the ISS and bring Expedition 6 back. Some of supplies would be transferred to the ISS from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, which would then be filled with experiments, equipment that was no longer required, and garbage to be returned to Earth. Three spacewalks were scheduled, to install an external stowage platform on the ISS ''Quest'' Joint Airlock and to replace a gyroscope that had failed. Collins was concerned about the proposed workload; she knew from her experience on STS-93 that a hectic schedule and pressure to get things done often resulted in mistakes. Problems discovered with the propellant feed lines on ''Atlantis'' and then on ''Discovery'' in June 2002 led to the entire Space Shuttle fleet being grounded again until October, pushing the launch date back to 6 March 2003. The fleet was then grounded again after the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster in February 2003. STS-114 now became NASA's "return to flight" mission to test safety improvements in addition to resupplying the ISS. The crew remained the same, but instead of the ISS expedition crew members, STS-114 would take three additional mission specialists to handle the greater workload: Andy Thomas to coordinate the
spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...
s and
Wendy Lawrence Wendy Barrien Lawrence (born July 2, 1959) is a retired United States Navy Captain, an engineer, and former helicopter pilot and NASA astronaut. She was the first female graduate of the United States Naval Academy to fly into space and she has ...
to operate the robotic arm, which was equipped with specialized cameras so that the Space Shuttle could be surveyed for damage. STS-114 was already scheduled to be the next mission flown, but it is unlikely that it would have remained so if Collins and Kelly had not already flown a mission as commander and pilot respectively. Collins advocated for at least one rookie astronaut to be assigned to the flight, and Charles Camarda was added.
Rick Hauck Frederick Hamilton "Rick" Hauck (pronounced "Howk"; born April 11, 1941) is a retired captain in the United States Navy, a former fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle mission STS-7 and commanded STS-51-A and STS-26. Per ...
, who had commanded the return to flight mission after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster, advised her to visit the contractors where the Space Shuttle components were made. She visited the Rockwell International plant in Canoga Park, California, where the SSMEs were refurbished, the Thiokol factory in
Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...
, where the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) were made, and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the Space Shuttle external tank was assembled. Asked if she felt afraid after the loss of ''Columbia'', Collins replied: "I would have to say no. I want to fly again. I am very mentally ready to go fly again." Then pausing, noting that she wanted to be precise, she added "I am mentally ready to go fly again when the shuttle is cleared to fly." She expressed reservations about the studs that held the Space Shuttle in place on the launch pad. The bolts holding them were supposed to be ruptured by explosive charges on lift off, but not all had done so on every mission. In fact, nuts had failed to rupture on one in five missions. If too many failed to separate, the result could be catastrophic. A new detonator system was devised, but would not be available for STS-114. She also had concerns about the booster separation motors that separated the SRBs from the orbiter. These were redesigned for STS-114. Finally, she expressed concern about rudder/ speed brake (RSB)
actuator An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system, for example by opening a valve. In simple terms, it is a "mover". An actuator requires a control device (controlled by control signal) a ...
s. An inspection of the RSB actuators on ''Discovery'' revealed problems; these were rectified by taking parts from ''Endeavour''. Since it would take a month to inspect ''Atlantis,'' ''Discovery'' was substituted for ''Atlantis'' for the STS-114 mission. ''Discovery'' was rolled out to the launch pad on 6 April 2005, but problems with the sensors in the external tank led to it being taken back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC to swap the external tank. This pushed the launch date back to 13 July. Then the same problem recurred, causing another postponement. The mission was launched on 26 July 2005, after a flawless countdown. Although ''Discovery'' was not damaged, video of the launch revealed that the problem with debris striking the Space Shuttle had not been resolved. Ten pieces of foam had broken off the external tank during lift off, including a piece that was the largest ever recorded. Collins blamed herself for not pushing Michoud harder to effect changes. The STS-114 mission continued, as ''Discovery'' was already in orbit, but the Space Shuttle fleet was grounded again. Collins became the first astronaut to fly an Orbiter through a complete 360-degree pitch maneuver. This was necessary so the astronauts aboard the ISS could take photographs of ''Discovery''s belly to ensure there was no threat from debris-related damage to the Orbiter upon reentry. It was a difficult maneuver, but one that she had practiced many times in the simulator. She then flew under the ISS and docked with it. The inspections revealed some concerns: gap fillers were protruding between some of the tiles, which could cause them to pop out during re-entry. The three spacewalks and the transfer of supplies was carried out without problems. On the third spacewalk, Robinson rode the robotic arm to the underside of ''Discovery'' and removed the two most prominent protruding gap fillers. ''Discovery'' was supposed to land at KSC on 8 August but unfavorable weather led to a postponement until the next day, and the landing site was changed to Edwards Air Force Base. The Orbiter touched down after a mission lasting 13 days, 21 hours and 33 minutes. This time, Collins was unhappy with her landing, feeling that it was slightly fast. She was relieved to find that the tires were in good shape. Although she had felt good in space on this mission, her feet hurt as the bones moved back into position back on the ground, and the pain took two weeks to subside.


Later life

Collins retired from the USAF in January 2005 with the rank of colonel. On 1 May 2006, NASA announced that she was leaving NASA to spend more time with her family and pursue other interests. She had flown 6,751 hours in thirty different types of aircraft, and logged over 872 hours in space flights. After her retirement, Collins made occasional public appearances as an analyst covering Shuttle launches and landings for CNN. She was the commencement speaker at the 148th commencement of Syracuse University in May 2001. She addressed the
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Lo ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
on 20 July 2016, leading to speculation that she might be appointed NASA administrator under Donald Trump.


Awards and honors

In addition to USAF Command Pilot (Astronaut) wings, Collins' awards and decorations include the
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with an oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with an oak leaf cluster, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and four NASA Space Flight Medals. She received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 2001, the Free Spirit Award, National Space Trophy, and Adler Planetarium Women in Space Science Award in 2006, the Space Foundation
Douglas S. Morrow Douglas Morrow (September 13, 1913 – September 9, 1994) was a Hollywood screenwriter and film producer. He earned an Academy Award for his script for 1949's ''The Stratton Story'', a biography of baseball player Monty Stratton, who was disabl ...
Public Outreach Award in 2007, the Harmon Trophy in 2020, and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2022. Collins was inducted into the National Women's Hall Of Fame in 1995, the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame on 19 April 2013, and the Texas Aviation Hall Of Fame at the
Lone Star Flight Museum The Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Houston, Texas, is an aerospace museum that displays more than 24 historically significant aircraft, and many artifacts related to the history of flight. The museum's collection is rare because most of ...
in Houston, Texas on 6 May 2020. She has been recognized by the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' as one of 300 women who have changed the world. An astronomical observatory—the Eileen Collins Observatory run by Corning Community College—is named in her honor, as is the main entrance boulevard to Syracuse Hancock International Airport. One of her graduate school alma maters, Webster University, awarded her an
honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...
Doctor of Science in 1996, and in 2021, she received Syracuse University's highest alumni honor, the George Arents Award. University College Dublin of the
National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
also conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree on her on 14 June 2006.


Publications

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Notes


References

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Further reading

*


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Eileen 1956 births American women flight instructors American flight instructors American people of Irish descent American test pilots Aviators from New York (state) Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Corning Community College alumni American women aviators Harmon Trophy winners Living people Military personnel from New York (state) NASA civilian astronauts People from Elmira, New York Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Space Shuttle program astronauts Stanford University alumni Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Air Force Academy faculty United States Air Force astronauts United States Air Force officers United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Webster University alumni Women astronauts Women in the United States Air Force American women academics Mir crew members National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century American women