License to Thrive

Eileen Collins

Eileen Collins was launched into history when she became the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft. Collins piloted the shuttle Discovery on an eight-day mission in February 1995, which included the first space rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir. Of this trailblazing mission, Collins said, "This mission marks the first baby steps in international space cooperation."

Collins has had to work hard and overcome adversity every inch of the way on her journey to space. Her family struggled to make ends meet in upstate New York, and she put herself through community college and paid for flying lessons by working fulltime in a variety of jobs. Collins learned to fly when she was only 19: "I didn't spend money on clothes...I'd grown up watching gliders fly off Harris Hill (in Elmira) and I'd always dreamed of flying." She graduated from Syracuse University with a BA in mathematics and economics, and pursued a Masters in operations research from Stanford University in 1986. She also holds a Masters in space systems management from Webster University. A math instructor at the Air Force Academy, she was also a test pilot at Edwards Air Force base, flying 26 different aircraft in a single year. She was selected by NASA in 1990 and became an astronaut in July 1991. Collins is well aware of the pioneering nature of her work: "I want to do well because I know that I'm representing other women, other pilots, military pilots as well as civilian pilots who are hoping to come here to NASA and be pilots themselves for the space shuttle."

Courtesy National Women's Hall of Fame