VAntage Point
American Astronaut: Eileen Collins
Air Force Veteran Eileen Collins is a NASA astronaut who was the first female pilot and commander of a space shuttle.
Born in November 1956 in Elmira, New York, Eileen Collins remembers the moon landing when she was a child. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, she stated that after reading about the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, she wanted to become one herself. In high school, she kept this goal a secret, aware that it might be a challenge to become an astronaut as a woman. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1978 and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and science.
Scientific American
Collins piloted the command module while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down in 1969
Print
Michael Collins at Apollo 11 Command Module, practicing docking hatch removal from CM simulator at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, June 28, 1969. Credit: Getty Images
Advertisement
Gemini and Apollo astronaut Michael Collins, who orbited the moon during the world’s first lunar landing mission, has died at the age of 90.
Collins’ death on Wednesday (April 28) was made known by his family and NASA.
“We regret to share that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today, after a valiant battle with cancer. He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side,” Collins’ family said in a statement. “Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way. We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. We will honor
8th March 2021 Feature
On International Women’s Day, Key.Aero explores the many women who have broken down barriers in aviation. Read on to find out which famous aviator’s couldn’t have succeeded without the help of their sister…
Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling OBE (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990)
On what would have been her birthday, there is no better place to start with our count of incredible aviation pioneers for International Women’s Day than with Beatrice Shilling. Educated at Manchester University, Shilling’s discipline was within the aeronautical engineering department. This had been her dream from the age of just 14, when she had bought herself a motorbike. Receiving her Bachelors degree in 1932, she stayed at the university to achieve her Master of Science degree in Mechanical engineering. In 1936, Shilling was employed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment based in Farnborough, Hampshire. Her first position was as a technical author wi
John Currier. Each were the recipients of the Harmon Trophy, a set of international awards to recognize the world s most outstanding aviators. Currier, the 28th Vice Commandant of the
U.S. Coast Guard, was awarded the trophy in 1988 for piloting a hazardous rescue operation to save 10 people off the coast of
Cape Cod.
Traverse City and died last March.
Northwestern Michigan Colleges International Affairs Forum will honor Currier s life in a virtual presentation Monday. The presentation features remarks from
USCG Air Station Traverse City Commander Charles Chuck Webb and is also part of the launch of a scholarship for NMC aviation students in Currier s memory.