Good FLYING Reads: Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars

Col. Eileen Collins pilots an ongoing mission to inspire youth to space flight.

Monday, April 25, 2022 at 09:30 AM ET

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Col. Eileen M. Collins flying in the orbiter Discovery's middeck with Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov, mission specialist, in the background. [Courtesy: National Archives]

Key Takeaways:

Col. Eileen M. Collins realized her childhood dream of spaceflight through diligent effort, becoming the first U.S. woman to pilot and command a space mission, including the critical post-Columbia return to flight (STS-114).
Her success is attributed to unwavering diligence, meticulous application, and trustworthiness, cultivated through a structured path that included military service and test pilot training, as detailed in her book, "Though the Glass Ceiling to the Stars."
Collins views her pioneering role as a responsibility and emphasizes the immense hard work behind her public accomplishments, using her platform to inspire youth and advocate for environmental stewardship based on her unique view of Earth from space.

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A young girl in a modest home in Elmira, New York, laid in bed looking at the ceiling and dreaming of the stars. At the time, she didn’t need to know the path that would take her there, only that she felt completely entranced by the idea of space.

Propelled by this dream that only appears simple on the surface, Col. Eileen M. Collins (USAF, retired) had no clear indication about how to get there. At the time—June 1974—when she graduated from high school, there were no women pilots active in the U.S. Air Force; the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) had been disbanded in late 1944 as the Allies approached the close of World War II.