Eileen collins
Eileen collins
The first female pilot of a Space Shuttle as well as the first female commander of a U.S. Spacecraft.
ProfessionAstronaut
Date of Birth19 November 1956
CityElmira, NY
country people flying
Some people said, “we don't want to risk astronauts lives anymore, we need to stop doing this”. The astronauts don't feel that wayWe fly for our country, we fly for humanity, we fly for exploration, we fly for a variety of reasons, and we don't stop flying because we have accidents.
believe space people
We want to explore. We're curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ... We believe in what we're doing. Now it's time to go.
military war airplane
Because of [Amelia Earhart], we had more women available to fly in the 1940's to help us get through World War II. And because of these women, women of my generation are able to look back and say, 'Hey, they did it. They even flew military airplanes, we can do it, too.'
thinking being-a-woman prove
I don’t think of myself as being a woman and having anything to prove,
moon design age
The vast majority of the shuttle program was a success. We learned so much about how a reusable spacecraft interacts with its environment, how it ages-and what to design next time.
mom daughter thinking
My daughter just thinks that all moms fly the Space Shuttle
air eggs atmosphere
The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so thin. We know that we don't have much air - we need to protect what we have.
opportunity thinking firsts
I'm honored to be the first woman to have the opportunity to command the shuttle. I don't really think about that on a day-to-day basis because I really don't need to.
pressure nerves emotion
I have no nerves, no emotion, no pressure.
astronaut program wanted
I wanted to apply to the astronaut program after the Challenger accident
definitely mission
We have definitely accomplished all our mission objectives.
focused good ground hands mission people staying
We are staying focused on the mission and we know we are in good hands with the people on the ground
enjoy guys
You guys made the right decision. We're going to enjoy another orbit.
certainly safer worried
This situation, I believe, will certainly be safer for entry. I'm actually not that worried about it.