Eileen Collins didnt want to put her life on the big screen.
Indeed, its not your typical astronaut story.
The former NASA astronaut grew up in Elmira, New York with a dream of becoming a pilot.
Astronaut Eileen M. Collins on board Columbia during a five-day mission in July 1999.NASA
Although money was tight, Collins worked several jobs to save enough for flying lessons.
Around that same time, NASA selected the first class of astronauts that included women.
Sally Ride became the first American woman to go to space in 1983 on board the Space Shuttle Challenger.
The STS-114 crew members on their way to the launch pad. Credit: NASA
A year later, Collins joined NASA and first flew the Space Shuttle as a pilot in 1995.
I had no idea it would turn into what it turned into.
Collins crew was five weeks away from launch when the Columbia tragedy took place.
The images were downlinked to ground control, revealing two areas where gap fillers were protruding from the shuttle.
Its really fun up there.
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