Eileen Collins

What strikes me most about Eileen Collins is how quietly historic her career is. Becoming the first woman to pilot and then command a Space Shuttle isn't just a milestone on a list of medals; it's a door held open for everyone who came after. I admire that her path ran through test-pilot rigor rather than spectacle, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Legion of Honour sitting beside hall-of-fame inductions almost as afterthoughts. To me, Collins represents the best kind of pioneer: disciplined, understated, and more interested in the mission than the glory. She earned her place in the sky.

Name (English)

Eileen Collins

Name (Japanese)

アイリーン・コリンズ

Reading

あいりーん・こりんず

Born

November 19, 1956 (age 69)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Monkey

Origin

Elmira, New York, United States

Occupation

air force officer / Granjeras / aircraft pilot / astronaut

University

Syracuse University

Awards & achievements

• Distinguished Flying Cross
• Knight of the Legion of Honour
• Harmon Trophy
• 1995 National Women's Hall of Fame
• Women in Aviation International
• 2009 National Aviation Hall of Fame
• United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
• 2006 Women in Space Science Award

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen%20Collins
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BA
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q229635

Tags

• New York
• air force officer
• Granjeras
• aircraft pilot

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.