Eileen Collins

Eileen Collins, born on November nineteenth, nineteen fifty-six, is a distinguished American retired NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel. With a remarkable career as a flight instructor and test pilot, she made history as the first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle mission, paving the way for future generations of female aviators.

Collins began her academic journey at Corning Community College, where she earned an associate degree in mathematics in nineteen seventy-six. She furthered her education at Syracuse University, graduating in nineteen seventy-eight with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and economics. Following her graduation, she was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force through the university's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

Her military career took off at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where she was one of four women selected for Undergraduate Pilot Training. After earning her pilot wings, she served as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot for three years before transitioning to the C-141 Starlifter at Travis Air Force Base in California. Notably, during the U.S. invasion of Grenada in October nineteen eighty-three, her aircraft played a crucial role in transporting troops and medical students.

Collins's academic pursuits continued as she earned a Master of Science degree in operations research from Stanford University in nineteen eighty-six and a Master of Arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in nineteen eighty-nine. That same year, she became the second woman pilot to attend the USAF Test Pilot School, graduating with class eighty-nine B.

In nineteen ninety, Collins was selected as a pilot astronaut with NASA Astronaut Group thirteen. She flew the Space Shuttle as the pilot of the nineteen ninety-five STS-63 mission, which included a historic rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir. Her command of STS-93 in July nineteen ninety-nine marked her as the first woman to lead a U.S. spacecraft, successfully deploying the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. In two thousand five, she commanded STS-114, NASA's return to flight mission after the Columbia disaster, showcasing her exceptional skills by executing a complete three hundred sixty-degree pitch maneuver. Collins retired from the USAF in January two thousand five and from NASA in May two thousand six.