COLLINS, EILEEN

born Nov. 19, 1956, Elmira, N.Y., U.S. American astronaut, the first woman to pilot and, later, to command a U.S. space shuttle. Collins's love of airplanes and flying began as a child. At age 19 she saved money earned from part-time jobs and began taking flying lessons. She graduated with an associate degree in science from Corning Community College in 1976 and completed a B.A. in math and economics at Syracuse (New York) University in 1978. She then became one of four women admitted to Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The first women astronauts were doing their parachute training at the same base at that time, and Collins realized that the goal of becoming an astronaut was within reach. In 1979 she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, and for the next 11 years taught not only flying but also math. She continued her own training at the Air Force's Institute of Technology and was one of the first women to attend Air Force Test Pilot School, from which she graduated in 1990. She also earned an M.S. in operations research from Stanford (California) University in 1986 and an M.A. in space systems management from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1989. Selected as an astronaut in 1990, Collins became the first woman pilot of a U.S. space shuttle in February 1995, when she commanded Discovery for its rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir. She piloted a second space shuttle flight in May 1997, successfully rendezvousing and docking with Mir to transfer personnel, equipment, and supplies. Having logged more than 400 hours in space, Collins in March 1999 was named the world's first woman shuttle commander.