Space Foundation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Ninety-Nines. In addition to being a member of the Order of Daedalians, she is also a member of the Air Force Association, Women Military Aviators, Women in Aviation International, U.S.
RUSSIAN SPACE PIONEER PROFESSIONAL
She currently serves on several boards and advisory panels, is a professional speaker, and an aerospace consultant. Collins retired from the Air Force in Jan 2005 and from NASA in May 2006 after a multi-decade distinguished career. She was a pilot on STS-63, which included the first rendezvous of Americans with the Russian Mir Space Station, a pilot on STS-84, the Commander of STS-93, which included deployment of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and was the Commander of STS-114, the “Return to Flight” mission following the 2003 Columbia disaster.Ĭol. She holds multiple degrees including a bachelor’s in mathematics and a master’s in space systems management. She has logged more than 6,750 flight hours in 30 different types of aircraft and more than 872 hours in space as a veteran of four space flights. She was also the first female pilot and first female commander of a space shuttle. An Irish-American native of Elmira, New York, she was among the first women selected to become an Air Force pilots in 1978. Eileen Collins, USAF (Ret.) is a former astronaut, and military instructor and test pilot. Interview conducted via telephone by Taylor E.