Eileen Marie Collins is one of the most notable female NASA astronauts and the United States Air Force Colonel. She was the first female pilot and first female commander of the Space Shuttle. She was also a former aviation instructor and test pilot. Eileen Collins made a record for logging in 38 days, 8 hours, and 20 minutes in outer space. She retired to pursue private interests and became a USAA service board member on May 1, 2006.

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Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

• Eileen Marie Collins was born on November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York, United States.
• She was the second of four children to James Edward and Rose Marie Collins.
• She has one older brother, Edward, a younger sister named Margaret, and a younger brother named James.
• Collins’ ancestors came to America in the mid-1800s and initially settled in Pennsylvania and Elmira, New York. 
• As a child, Collins had issues with stuttering, for which she received speech therapy.
• She also became a member of the Girl Scouts. 
• She expressed her aspiration to become a pilot and astronaut at an early age.
• In fact, Elmira, New York, was known as a suitable place for people who wanted to become professional pilots. 
• Dubbed the “soaring capital” of the U.S., Elmira is the location of the Harris Hill Soaring Center, where pilots hold events to fly gliders.
• Another notable childhood memory for Collins was when she would go to the local airport with her parents to watch planes take off as she was sitting on the hood of their car.
• It was a devastating moment for Collins when her parents separated when she was only nine years old, during a time when her father lost his job in the post office and her mother was forced to hunt for a job.
• There was a time when Collins’ family struggled for money and could only rely on food stamps.
• Their financial situation improved when James got a job as a surveyor, as their mother, Rose, worked in prison. 
• In order to save up and afford private flying lessons, Collins worked the night shift at a pizza parlor. 
• Eventually, she saved a thousand dollars from that job, which she reportedly used to take private flying lessons.
• Collins was nineteen years old when she set foot on her first plane and set her path to becoming a full-fledged pilot. 
• In 1974, she earned an associate degree in Mathematics at Corning Community College.
• After graduating from community college, she joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), a college program that prepares young adults for careers in the military.
• The ROTC later on granted Collins a scholarship to attend Syracuse University in New York.
• In 1978, Collins graduated with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University.
• Beginning in 1976, the U.S. Air Force began accepting women as pilots.
• Following her graduation, Collins applied to join the Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
• Out of 120 female applicants, Collins was among the four selected to join a batch of around 320 men.

CAREER AND CONTRIBUTIONS

• It took a year of professional pilot training before Collins became the U.S. Air Force’s first female flight instructor at 23 years old.
• She taught at flying bases in Oklahoma, California, and Colorado from 1979 until 1990.
• She also worked as an assistant professor of mathematics at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
• While teaching math, she continued her education and attended classes at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio.
• In 1896, she obtained her master’s degree in operations research at Stanford University, California.
• She went on to earn a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University.
• At 32 years old, Collins had spent fifteen hundred hours of flight time. 
• Collins secured a prestigious opportunity by becoming the second woman to be accepted to the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
• After her graduation in 1990, she was given the opportunity by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to become an astronaut.
• From 1990 until 1995, Collins worked in various roles at NASA. 
  • First, she worked on providing engineering support for satellites.
  • Afterwards, she worked as a Spacecraft Communicator, Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief, Chief Information Officer, Shuttle Branch Chief, and Astronaut Safety Branch Chief.

• Collins’ first journey to space happened in 1995, under a joint space program by Russia and the United States, in which the U.S. space shuttle Discovery, which Eileen piloted, would dock at the Russian space station Mir.
• In 1997, Collins piloted her second mission to space, also a joint docking mission by Discovery and Mir.
• In 1999, Collins commanded the space shuttle, which marked her name in history as the first woman to command a space shuttle.
  • She commanded Columbia that launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the largest X-ray telescope in space.
  • The launch experienced technical problems, but Collins managed to successfully guide the spacecraft to a safe landing. 
• Collins’ most important mission happened in 2005, as she commanded a fourteen-day mission of the Discovery, which aimed to improve safety features for succeeding space missions.
  • During Collins’ mission with the Discovery crew, they stayed fourteen days in space spending most of their time docking at the International Space Station (ISS).

PERSONAL LIFE

• In January 2005, Collins retired from the U.S. Air Force holding the rank of colonel.
• By the time NASA announced Collins’ departure in May 2006, she had flown 6,751 hours in thirty various types of aircraft and logged more than 872 hours in space flights.
• After working for NASA, Collins lived privately in Elmira, New York.
• Collins is married to a fellow pilot named Pat Youngs.
• Collins met Youngs in the 1980s when they were both flight instructors in California. 
• Collins and Pat have two children, Bridget and Luke. 

AWARDS

• She was awarded the 2006 National Space Trophy.
• The Eileen M. Collins Observatory in Corning Community College was named after her.
• She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. 
• Collins was recognized by Encyclopedia Britannica as one of the “300 women who changed the world.”

Eileen Collins Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Eileen Collins across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Eileen Collins, who is one of the most notable female NASA astronauts and the United States Air Force Colonel.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Eileen Collins Facts
2. Collins’ Biography
3. Astronaut Duties
4. Astro-Word Search
5. News From Space
6. Sort By Category
7. Exploration Quotes
8. Career Timeline
9. Female Astronauts
10. Honor for Collins
11. Dream In Focus

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Eileen Collins change the world?

In 1999, Eileen Collins wrote history as the first female to command a NASA space shuttle mission. STS-93 was her brainchild, and she deployed Chandra X-Ray Space Observatory during it. Thirty-eight days in space made her one of the most experienced astronauts from America’s beloved space agency.

What was Eileen Collins known for?

In February 1995, a woman named Collins became the first woman to captain a space shuttle on an eight-day mission. This journey also included meeting up with the Russian Mir Space Station, which a Russian space station had never done before. Then in 1999, she made headlines again by commanding Columbia during the STS-93 mission.

When did Eileen Collins start working at NASA?

Colonel Eileen Collins did something unique in 1990 when she graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School. She has flown 30 different aircraft for 5,000 hours. NASA noticed her greatness and chose her as an astronaut in January 1990. She was officially accepted seven months later, in July 1991.

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