Apollo spirit: Female shuttle commander wants to 'get the job done'

Collins will become the first woman commander in space when Columbia takes off in mid-July

ALSO Shuttle mission aims to make history

July 13, 1999
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT)

(CNN) -- For Air Force Col. Eileen Collins, it's high time.

The first woman to command a NASA space mission is ready to lead her crew of four into orbit around Earth aboard the space shuttle Columbia on the 30th anniversary of the first moonwalk.

"I don't think about being the first," said Collins, 42. "I just worry about getting the job done."

Eileen Collins may not think about it because she is used to being a pioneer. Among the first group of women to fly for the U.S. Air Force, she signed on with NASA in 1990 becoming the first woman pilot of a NASA space shuttle five years later.

"I've been kind of lucky," says Collins, a native of Elmira, New York. She majored in math and economics at Syracuse University and got Master's degrees from Stanford University and Webster University.

'A long time coming'

Of course, women crewmembers aboard the space shuttle are old news. Sally Ride broke that barrier back in 1983 and 26 U.S. women followed her into space.

The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, traveled aboard the space shuttle Challenger with four other astronauts on June 18, 1983

Collins' distinction lies in the seat she occupies on the space shuttle. She is the first female commander of a shuttle or any other U.S. space mission for that matter. But the world record on this category was set 36 years ago by a Russian woman.

When parachutist Valentina Tereshkova flew alone into orbit in 1963, she was technically a mission commander. Brave as the stunt was, a space historian says ground controllers commanded every aspect of that flight.

"There is no comparison at all between the first woman in orbit and Collins," says space historian John Logsdon. "Tereshkova, who was just a passenger, who had no proper training, was a parachutist, but that is all."

Collins said at a news conference in early July that the opportunity for a woman to command a shuttle mission had "been a long time coming."

"Women helped pioneer aviation," Collins said, adding that starting around 1930, "women were not given the same opportunities as men."

The traditional route to command at NASA is to fly military combat aircraft, which women were not allowed to do until the mid-1970s. Now, there are more opportunities for women.

Collins started her flying career in the U.S. Air Force

"NASA is very serious about giving all Americans a chance to fly in space. But to be an astronaut you can't just walk into this job. You have to prepare yourself," Collins said.

Daughter 'screamed with delight'

Although barriers have started to fall, Collins said more young women needed to choose technical and scientific careers before women could be fully represented in space.

"If you don't have large numbers of women apply, it will be hard to select large numbers of women," she said.

During her nearly five-day mission, Collins and crew will deploy the $2.87 billion Chandra X-ray telescope.

"I am into applications. I have a high energy level," she says. "I love what I am doing."

Collins says her 3-year-old daughter screamed with delight when she learned her mother was going into space, "then she forgot about it and went on to the next thing."

Collins also got high marks from her crew.

"I like working for Eileen," said Coleman. "I'm also extremely proud to be on this flight. I like the historic significance."

There are only two other women pilots in NASA's astronaut corps and not a single female flyer in the most recent class of candidates.

Correspondent Miles O'Brien and Reuters contributed to this report.