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
earth enjoy orbit
We're going to enjoy another day on orbit and we'll see you on Earth tomorrow.
anxious brought crew discovery great looks outside walk
We brought Discovery back in great shape. The crew was very anxious to walk around and see what the outside looks like and it looks fantastic.
astronaut program wanted
I wanted to apply to the astronaut program after the Challenger accident
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.
columbia focused job thoughts
I have had a lot of thoughts about Columbia and I will have thoughts after the landing, We're all going to be very focused ... on the job at hand.
educated general
He was pretty educated about what we do in a general sense.
cake finally icing wild
It's just been a wild ride. We've finally been able to put the icing on the cake with this mission.
ascent far flown
For those of us who have flown before , that was by far the smoothest ascent .
copy houston wave
OK, Houston we copy that. We'll be a wave off for today.
mistakes risky
It will be expensive, it will be risky and we will make mistakes as we go. But we will do it because we are explorers by nature.
attention bit dangerous hardware learn listened mistakes paid reminding talking
Had we listened a little bit more and paid attention to the hardware that was talking to us, we probably could have prevented the accident. We need to learn from the mistakes we made ... I am continually reminding myself that we're in a dangerous business.
astronaut future great job leave memories
I leave the astronaut job with great memories but also great expectations for our country's future in space.
fly leaving reality sad ways
In some ways I feel sad about leaving NASA, but the reality is, I won't fly again.
carrying columbia crew
I think about the Columbia crew every day. I feel like we are carrying on their mission.