21. Pages In The History Of Elmira | Eileen Collins: Elmira's Space Hero eileen collins was born in Elmira on November 19, 1956. As the space age unfolded in the 60s, eileen s excitement over flying grew. http://www.cityofelmira.net/history/eileen_collins.html

Eileen Collins: Elmira's Space Hero " When I was a child, I dreamed about space - I admired pilots, astronauts, and I've admired explorers of all kinds. It was only a dream that I would someday be one of them. It is my hope that all children, boys and girls, will see this mission and be inspired to reach for their dreams, because dreams do come true!" - Eileen Collins, astronaut Colonel Eileen Marie Collins made history when she became the first woman to command a space shuttle mission, STS-93 Columbia , on July 22-27, 1999. A long and successful road led Collins to that historical mission. The road began in Elmira, New York. Eileen Collins was born in Elmira on November 19, 1956. As the space age unfolded in the '60s, Eileen's excitement over flying grew. She watched Star Trek and Lost in Space on television and read stories about famous women aviators. Inspired by stories of Amelia Earhart, and women Air Force service pilots in World War II, Collins saved enough money to earn her pilot's license in 1977. Eileen attended St. Patrick's School through the eighth grade, followed by two years at Notre Dame High School and the last two at Elmira Free Academy. She lived in Hoffman Court throughout most of her childhood before moving in the early '70s to Second Street across from the cemetery.

22. STS-93 Commander: Eileen Collins NAME eileen Marie collins (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF) NASA Astronaut PERSONAL DATA Born November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Married to Pat Youngs, http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/STS-93/crew9.htm

Crew Member Eileen M. Collins NAME: Eileen Marie Collins (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF) NASA Astronaut PERSONAL DATA: Born November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Married to Pat Youngs, originally from San Antonio, Texas. They have one child. She enjoys running, golf, hiking, camping, reading, photography, astronomy. Her parents are James and Rose Marie Collins, from Elmira, New York. His parents are Pat and Jackie Youngs, from San Antonio, Texas. EDUCATION: Graduated from Elmira Free Academy, Elmira, New York, in 1974; received an associate in science degree in mathematics/science from Corning Community College in 1976; a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1978; a master of science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986; and a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989. ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Air Force Association, Order of Daedalians, Women Military Aviators, U.S. Space Foundation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Ninety-Nines. SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury, October 1983), and the NASA Space Flight Medal.

23. National Women's Hall Of Fame - Women Of The Hall eileen collins was launched into history when she became the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft. collins piloted the shuttle Discovery on an http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=41

24. SPACE.com -- NASA's First Female Shuttle Commander Retires From Spaceflight NASA astronaut veteran eileen collins, the first woman to pilot and command a US spacecraft, is hanging up her orbital wings to pursue more terrestrial http://www.space.com/news/060501_collins_retirement.html

SPACE.com News Space Flight Science ... Community advertisement STS-114 commander Eileen Collins made her fourth spaceflight aboard the space shuttle Discovery on July 26, 2005. Credit: NASA/JSC. Click to enlarge. (From left to right) Expedition 11 Flight Engineer John Phillips, Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Soichi Noguchi and Commander Eileen Collins answer questions from the news media. Credit: NASA TV Discovery's STS-114 commander Eileen Collins is flanked by her fellow astronauts Stephen Robinson (left), mission specialist, and James Kelly, pilot in this image taken aboard the shuttle during the 13-day spaceflight. Credit: NASA. Click to enlarge. The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-114 gathered in front of the shuttle Discovery following landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, August 9, 2005.From left to right: Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson, Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi and Charles Camarda, and Pilot James Kelly. Image credit: NASA/Jim Ross After Successful Flight, a Warm Texas Greeting for STS-114 Crew

25. Women In Aviation: Biography Of Eileen Collins Born November 19, 1956 in Elmira, New York to James and Rose Marie collins, eileen received an associate in science degree in mathematics/science from http://library.thinkquest.org/21229/bio/ecoll.htm

Biography: Eileen Collins Return to History Page Selected by NASA in January 1990, Eileen became an astronaut in July of the next year. Initially assigned to Orbiter engineering support, she has also served on the astronaut support team responsible for Orbiter prelaunch checkout, final launch configuration, crew ingress/egress, landing and recovery. She has worked in Mission Control as a spacecraft communicator for numerous shuttle missions and served as the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief. Eileen is a veteran of two space flights, herself. STS-63, which took place February 2-11, 1995, was the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included a rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir, operation of Spacehab, the deployment and retrieval of an astronomy satellite and a space walk. Eileen¹s first mission was accomplished in 129 orbits, traveling over 2.9 million miles in 198 hours and 29 minutes. It was on this mission that Eileen became the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle. Her second mission, STS-84 took place May 15-24, 1997. This was NASA¹s sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the flight, the crew conducted a number of experiments and transferred nearly four tons of supplies and equipment between Atlantis and the Mir station. At the end of this mission, Eileen had logged a total of over 419 hours in space.

26. Lieut. Col. Eileen Collins 1998 People In The News — Infoplease.com eileen collins. of the Air Force will be the first woman in the U.S. to command a space shuttle More on Lieut Col eileen collins from Infoplease http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0758500.html

Site Map FAQ in All Infoplease Almanacs Biographies Dictionary Encyclopedia Spelling Checker Daily Almanac for Jan 28, 2008 Search White Pages Skip Navigation Home Almanacs ... Word of the Day Editor's Favorites 2007 Year in Review Black History Month Leap Year Martin Luther King Day ... 2008 Calendar Search: Infoplease Info search tips Search: Biographies Bio search tips Biography Noteworthy People People in the News ... 1998 People in the News Lieut. Col. Eileen Collins of the Air Force will be the first woman in the U.S. to command a space shuttle mission when Columbia launches in July 1999. She already has the distinction of being the first female space shuttle pilot. Viktor Chernomyrdin, 1998 People in the News Betty Currie, Cite ... Add to Reddit More on Lieut Col Eileen Collins from Infoplease: March 1998 - March 1998 1998 News Month-By-Month World Russian Atomic Minister Ousted (March 2): Viktor N. ... Infoplease Tools Calculator Spelling Checker Place Finder Distance Calculator ... Year by Year Career Center Job Search Post Your Resume Continuing Ed. College Center Scholarship Search College Resources RSS About ... Privacy Related sites: Family Education TeacherVision

27. CNN.com - Shuttle Returns To Space - Jul 26, 2005 Commander eileen collins described the ascent as smooth and the crew as feeling great. I couldn t ask for a better flight, she said. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/07/26/space.shuttle/index.html

cnnSiteWideCurrDate = new Date(2008, 0, 28); Member Center: Sign In Register International Edition Home Page ... Shuttle milestones Shuttle returns to space NASA examining video of debris spotted during liftoff From Thom Patterson CNN var clickExpire = "-1"; Video shows debris falling from the external tank as Discovery ascends from launch pad. RELATED Audio Slide Show: Big day of Discovery Shuttle returns to space Eager fans cheer Discovery liftoff Miles O'Brien's shuttle blog ... Return to flight SPECIAL REPORT Flash: Space shuttle system Flash: All about the ISS Gallery: Crew of Discovery Interactive: Flight data Special Report YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Exploration or Create Your Own Manage Alerts What Is This? KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) Discovery roared into orbit Tuesday in NASA's first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster, and afterward engineers began evaluating pictures of falling debris to determine the chances of another mishap. A new battery of cameras trained on the shuttle during launch showed a small piece of debris falling from the underside of the orbiter, which NASA officials say could have come from a tile near a door covering the nose landing gear. But NASA's flight operations manager, John Shannon, said it was too soon to determine the source of the debris, how large any possible defect might be and whether it poses any safety threat for the spacecraft.

28. Howstuffworks "Collins, Eileen Marie - Encyclopedia Entry" Learn about collins, eileen Marie. Read our encyclopedia entry on collins, eileen Marie. http://reference.howstuffworks.com/collins-eileen-marie-encyclopedia.htm

HowStuffWorks.com RSS Make HowStuffWorks your homepage Get Newsletter Search HowStuffWorks and the web: Encyclopedia Space Exploration Related Categories: REFERENCE LINKS PRINT EMAIL Collins, Eileen Marie Collins, Eileen Marie (1956-...), is the first woman to command a space shuttle. She commanded the shuttle Columbia on an orbital flight from July 23 to 28, 1999. During the flight, the shuttle launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory, an orbiting telescope. Collins also commanded the shuttle Discovery from July 26 to Aug. 9, 2005, the program's first flight following the 2003 loss of Columbia. Related Topics: Grissom, Virgil Ivan (1926-1967), was one of the first United States astronauts, and the first American to make more than one space flight. Grissom... Onizuka, Ellison Shoji , on uh zoo kah, EHL uh suhn SHOH jee (1946-1986), was the first Asian American in space and one of the seven United States... Roosa, Stuart Allen (1933-1994), was a United States astronaut. He was a crewman on the Apollo 14 space mission, which made a manned landing on the... White, Edward Higgins, II

29. Eileen Collins: An Astronaut's Endless Endeavor Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2007 An astronaut s work, it seems, is never done. eileen collins retired in May, but by October she still hadn t found time http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Eileen_Collins_An_Astronaut_Endless_Endeavor

SPACE TRAVEL SPACE DAILY SPACE WAR TERRA DAILY ... ENERGY DAILY Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email Search All Our Sites at SpaceBank SPACE TRAVEL Eileen Collins: An Astronaut's Endless Endeavor Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 commander, waves while floating in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2007 An astronaut's work, it seems, is never done. Eileen Collins retired in May, but by October she still hadn't found time to finish cleaning out her office. "I'm still answering mail from 2005," she said. "I haven't wound down yet. I've been extremely busy." Of course, that statement could also apply to the past three decades of Collins' life. In 1976, when Collins was a college sophomore, the Air Force announced it would begin training women as pilots. NASA followed suit in 1978 and began accepting women into the shuttle program - just about the time Collins was deciding what to do with her life. "Those were important years for me," she said. "When the astronaut program opened up to women, that was a huge motivation for me to get my career on the course where I could become a shuttle astronaut someday. And because I was so interested in flying, I wanted to be a shuttle pilot." Not that it necessarily would have stopped her if the agencies hadn't started accepting women. Collins started planning to become an astronaut long before she would technically have been allowed to. In fourth grade she read a Junior Scholastic Magazine article on the pros and cons of spending money on the space program. Even at the tender age of 8, she couldn't imagine how anyone could think there were cons.

30. Spaceflight Now | STS-114 Shuttle Report | Eileen Marie Collins A sevenperson crew, led by veteran shuttle commander eileen collins, will fly aboard Discovery for the shuttle return to flight mission. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/crew/collins.html

The Mission Orbiter: Discovery Mission: STS-114 Launch: July 26 @ 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT) Site: Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida Landing: Aug. 9 @ 8:11 a.m. EDT (1211 GMT) Site: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC Mission video Pre-flight video Master Flight Plan Mission Status Center ... STS-114 Story Index The Crew A seven-person crew, led by veteran shuttle commander Eileen Collins, will fly aboard Discovery for the shuttle return to flight mission. Crew Quick-Look CDR: Eileen Collins PLT: James Kelly MS 1: Soichi Noguchi ... Astronaut Fatalities The Vehicle As America's third reusable space shuttle to fly, Discovery has successfully completed 30 missions since 1984. STS-114 Hardware Shuttle Flight History Launch/Landing Chart Human Space Missions STS-107 Archive Our comprehensive coverage of the Columbia disaster and its aftermath has been archived. STS-107 Directory STS-114 Commander Eileen Marie Collins Colonel, U.S. Air Force NASA BIOGRAPHY Posted: December 19, 2004 Credit: NASA PERSONAL DATA: Born November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Married. She enjoys running, golf, hiking, camping, reading, photography, astronomy. EDUCATION: Graduated from Elmira Free Academy, Elmira, New York, in 1974; received an associate in science degree in mathematics/science from Corning Community College in 1976; a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1978; a master of science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986; and a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989.

31. Eileen Collins Graphic Design Designs newsletters, brochures, direct mail pieces, letterhead, advertisements, invitations, logos, web sites and other collateral materials. http://www.collinsdesign.com/

32. Eileen Collins - First Woman Space Shuttle Commander eileen collins was the first woman to command a space shuttle. Born in 1956, eileen collins was selected by NASA for their astronaut training program in http://womenshistory.about.com/od/collinseileen/Eileen_Collins_Space_Shuttle_Com

zOBT=" Ads" zGCID=" test1" zGCID=" test1 test9" zJs=10 zJs=11 zJs=12 zJs=13 zc(5,'jsc',zJs,9999999,'') z160=zpreC(160,600);z336=zpreC(336,280);z728=zpreC(728,90);z133=zpreC(336,133);zItw=160 Women's History var h2=document.getElementsByTagName("h2")[0];if(h2.getElementsByTagName("a")[0].firstChild.nodeValue.length>29)h2.className="long"; Home Education Women's History Search over 1.4 million articles by over 600 experts Search Women's History Biographies Women's Rights Email ... Print Filed In: Space: Astronauts Eileen Collins Eileen Collins - Space Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins was the first woman to command a space shuttle. Born in 1956, Eileen Collins was selected by NASA for their astronaut training program in 1990 and first flew in 1995. In 1999, on STS-93 on the Columbia space shuttle, Eileen Collins became the first woman space shuttle commander. Eileen Collins Official NASA biographical sketch of Eileen Collins who joined NASA in 1990 and was the first woman to command a space shuttle on STS-93, 1999. Eileen Marie Collins NASA astronaut since 1991 and first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle: Eileen Collins on a 1995 mission docked with Russian space station Mir; in 1997 her second mission also docked with Mir. She was the first woman space shuttle commander. One giant leap for womankind CNN 7/22/99: Eileen Collins makes history by commanding the latest space shuttle.

33. Shuttle Commander Always In Right Space At Right Time HOUSTON Astronaut eileen collins stands 5foot-6, wears her auburn hair short, and has a neat, economical way about her that inspires confidence and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/03/AR2005070301147.

var SA_Message="SACategory=" + 'nation/science'; Hello Change Preferences Sign Out Sign In Register Now ... Pets SEARCH: washingtonpost.com Web Search Archives washingtonpost.com Nation Science ... E-Mail This Article RSS News Feeds Top News Nation What is RSS? All RSS Feeds E-mail Newsletters View a Sample and Sign Up Federal Insider Breaking News Alerts Manage Your Newsletters today in slate ... Zenware: How To Build a Distraction-Free Desktop Shuttle Commander Always In Right Space at Right Time By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, July 4, 2005; Page A01 HOUSTON Astronaut Eileen Collins stands 5-foot-6, wears her auburn hair short, and has a neat, economical way about her that inspires confidence and encourages confidences. At test pilot school they called her "Mom," because the boys liked her. The other part turns out to be harder to get at. The part about how a blue-collar kid from public housing in Elmira, N.Y., climbed to the top of one of the world's most exclusive professions so smoothly and inevitably that it seemed almost a birthright. But the other part is there. It's in the windblown, jut-jawed portrait that celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz made of her in 1999. And in the shrug she gave the Associated Press after a fuel leak almost forced her to make an emergency shuttle landing in Africa: "I knew we had an out somewhere." And it's in the headline that the magazine Irish America used for its "Irish of the Century" feature: "Eileen Collins: Rocket Woman."

34. Eileen M. Collins News - The New York Times News about eileen M. collins. Commentary and archival information about eileen M. collins from The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/eileen_m_collins/in

@import url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/css/topic/screen/200704/topic.css); Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page ... Times Topics Monday, January 28, 2008 Times Topics World U.S. N.Y. / Region ... Autos var tcdacmd="sa=a;sz=2;ad"; Report An Error Times Topics People C > Collins, Eileen M. E-MAIL Save Eileen M. Collins News about Eileen M. Collins, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. ARTICLES ABOUT EILEEN M. COLLINS Newest First Oldest First Page: By MICHELLE YORK (NYT); COMPILED BY JOHN SULLIVAN James E Collins, father of space shuttle commander Eileen Collins, is struck by car and killed in Elmira, NY March 1, 2006 MORE ON EILEEN M. COLLINS AND: ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY SPACE SPACE SHUTTLE ROADS AND TRAFFIC ... Joy Is Tinged With Sadness for Columbia By WARREN E. LEARY; SIMON ROMERO CONTRIBUTED REPORTING FROM HOUSTON FOR THIS ARTICLE, and JOHN SCHWARTZ FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. August 10, 2005 MORE ON EILEEN M. COLLINS AND: SPACE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SHUTTLE GLIDES TO SAFE LANDING; PROBLEMS AHEAD By JOHN SCHWARTZ and WILLIAM J. BROAD; JOHN SCHWARTZ REPORTED FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE FOR THIS ARTICLE, and WILLIAM J. BROAD FROM NEW YORK. WARREN E. LEARY CONTRIBUTED REPORTING FROM CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA., and SIMON ROMERO FROM HOUSTON. Space shuttle Discovery glides back to Earth in predawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Mojave Desert, after mission of 14 days and 5.8 million miles that has brought NASA back to human spaceflight but also added pressure on agency to move beyond shuttle program; photos; commander Col Eileen M Collins says team is happy to be back after mission, which blended hope with poignancy of loss of Columbia; photos; analysts say suspension of shuttle flights because of continuing problem with foam ...

35. Al Weisel - Astronaut Eileen Collins Miss Universe Astronaut eileen collins, By Al Weisel, Us Magazine. A 1999 profile of astronaut eileen collins, NASA s first female spaceshuttle commander. http://home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/useileencollins.htm

Al Weisel Miss Universe: Astronaut Eileen Collins By Al Weisel Us Magazine, April 1999, p. 27 Collins had to bust through a few glass ceilings on her way into space. But she won't be bearing any grudges when she leads a crew of three men and one woman on a five day mission to launch the Chandra X-ray telescope which will allow scientists the most advanced methods of studying X-rays given off by celestial bodies. In fact, Collins believes Glenn was accurate about the social order. "But whether or not our social order was right is very questionable," she says. "I don't t think it was right." Growing up, Collins played with chemistry and dreamed of becoming a teacher. Her parents, James, a postal worker, and Rose Marie, a clerical worker at the maximum security Elmira Correctional Facility split up when she was 9. It hit me like a ton of bricks," she says, "but children are very adaptable." Her father briefly lost his job around that time and the family went on food stamps. "The [food stamps] program did what it was designed to do, which is help people get through hard times in their life," she says. Immediately after taking her first flight on a commercial airliner, at 19, Collins knew she had found her calling. "I had been reading about pilots, and it fascinated me," she says. "The first time women were accepted as pilots in the military was in 1974, just as I was reading about it. The timing was perfect." Becoming an astronaut wasn't a "realistic dream," however, until she graduated from college in 1978, the year NASA selected its first women shuttle astronauts

36. Astronaut Eileen Collins Leaves NASA - Space - MSNBC.com eileen collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle who also led last year s harrowing return to flight after the Columbia disaster, said Monday she http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12578454/

Skip navigation Web MSNBC Space Science Gadgets Internet ... Innovation Categories U.S. news World news Politics Business ... Local news Browse Video Photos Community Today Show ... MSNBC TV Astronaut Eileen Collins leaves NASA First woman shuttle commander also led last year's Discovery mission NASA TV / Reuters Eileen Collins, center, works on Discovery's flight deck as the shuttle prepares to dock with the international space station on July 28, 2005. FREE VIDEO 'Absolutely wonderful' Aug. 9. 2005: Discovery commander Eileen Collins talks about the shuttle mission. MSNBC CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Eileen Collins, the unflappable astronaut who charted a groundbreaking career as the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle, is leaving the U.S. space agency. Having flown in space four times, Collins said, “We have many astronauts in this office who haven’t even flown one flight. It’s time for me to step aside and give the young guys a chance to fly.” The 49-year-old astronaut said Monday that she will leave the U.S. space agency in the next week or two and plans to devote several months to her family. Collins had considered leaving the space agency last year after she fearlessly led NASA’s harrowing first flight in space since the Columbia disaster in 2003. But the death of her mother last December, followed by her father’s sudden death in a traffic accident earlier this year, forced her to push back her departure date so she could finish tying up loose ends from last summer’s mission.

37. Colonel Eileen M. Collins Exclusively Represented By Keppler Speakers About Colonel eileen M. collins First Woman to Pilot and Command an American Spacecraft. The first woman to pilot and command an American spacecraft, http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1-4D1MG

38. George Bush Presidential Library Foundation » Eileen Collins Colonel eileen collins served in the United States Air Force until her retirement in 2005. She was selected by NASA in January 1990 and became an astronaut http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/articles/Eileen_Collins

Logo Home Contact George Bush Presidential Library Foundation ... Links Thu, February 07 National Security Seminar Series The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs will present the National Security Seminar Series featuring John Parachini, Director of the Intelligence Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. His presentation is scheduled for 5:15 pm - 6:45 pm in Room 1110 in the Allen Building. For more information, contact siia@bushschool.tamu.edu or 979-845-1540. Mon, February 11 Scowcroft Institute Special Event The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs will present a special event featuring James Oberwetter, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. His presentation is scheduled for 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm in Room 1110 in the Allen Building. For more information, contact siia@bushschool.tamu.edu or 979-845-1540. Thu, February 21 National Security Seminar Series The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs will present the National Security Seminar Series featuring Thomas Mahnken, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. His presentation is scheduled for 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm in Room 1110 in the Allen Building. For more information, contact siia@bushschool.tamu.edu or 979-458-8023. Fri, February 29

39. Women's History Month (March 2007) - Eileen Collins On February 4, 1995, at 1222 a.m. in Cape Canaveral, Florida, thousands of people held their breath as Lieutenant Colonel eileen collins launched the U.S. http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/whm-eileencollins.html

Embassy News U.S. Citizen Services Visas to the U.S. Resources ... Kiswahili You Are In: Home Embassy News Programs and Events Women's History Month - 2007 ... Women's History Month - 2007 Women's History Month (WHM) - March 2007 Eileen Collins Also known as: Eileen M. Collins, Eileen Marie Collins Birth: November 19, 1956 in Elmira, New York, United States Occupation: astronaut Source: Encyclopedia of World Biography , 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Updated: BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY Eileen Collins (born 1956) became the first woman to pilot a U.S. space shuttle and the first woman to command a U.S. space flight. On February 4, 1995, at 12:22 a.m. in Cape Canaveral, Florida, thousands of people held their breath as Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins launched the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery into the heavens on her first mission as pilot. Flames burst from the shuttle's engines as smoke enveloped the launch pad. During the shuttle's violent ascent, acceleration is so forceful that the astronauts are pinned against their seats and breathe with difficulty as G-forces pound against their chests. The shuttle approaches an escape velocity of 3,000 miles per hour and later accelerates to 17,500 miles per hour. From her position inside the craft, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins handled the takeoff with extraordinary confidence. Perhaps piloting the shuttle seemed to be all in a day's work for Collins because she had rehearsed the takeoff hundreds of times in a simulator. She spent the previous month practicing takeoffs and landings for up to 14 hours per day and, during the previous six months, spent an average of three hours per day in the simulator. But the morning of February 4 was the real thing, and there was no room for error. Fear and excitement undoubtedly swelled in Collins as the price of failure was contemplated.

40. Astronaut Eileen Collins: Girl Power! Guest Astronaut eileen Marie collins of NASA is spotlighted by the Girl Power! Campaign. http://www.girlpower.gov/girlarea/gpguests/eileen_collins.htm

Girl Power! Can Take You To The Moon! Spotlight on NASA Astronaut, Lt. Col. Eileen Marie Collins "When I was in high school, I never thought I would be an astronaut. We didn't have women astronauts then. Let me tell you, dreams can come true!" Lt. Col. Eileen Marie Collins Girl Power! It can take you to the moon and back. Just ask NASA Astronaut, Lt. Col. Eileen Collins. She is making worldwide headlines because she will be the first woman commander of an American spaceship. The launch has been rescheduled to July 22, 1999. This is not the first time she has made headlines. In February of 1995, Lt. Col. Collins made worldwide headlines by being the first woman ever to pilot an American spaceship. She guided the space shuttle, Discovery, within 37 feet of the Russian Space Station Mir and made more than 129 orbits around the globe a more than 2.9 million mile trip in 198 hours and 29 minutes! "Teach me how to fly" Lt. Col. Eileen Marie Collins was born November 19, 1956 in Elmira, New York. She grew up in a family that wanted her to go to college, but didn't have the money to send her. As a child, her parents would take her to the airport to watch the planes because she had always dreamed of flying. After high school, she attended community college and then got a 2 year scholarship to Syracuse University. While at Syracuse, she entered the Air Force ROTC because the Air Force said they would "teach me how to fly." "You will have bumps on the road along the way. Take every disappointment in your career as an opportunity for something new and better in the future."

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