No one can tell the story better than someone who’s lived it and when it comes to breaking barriers and overcoming obstacles during NASA’s space shuttle days, that would be Col. Eileen Collins.
Collins holds the honor of being both the first woman to pilot a space shuttle and the first woman to command a shuttle. She also commanded the first flight after the Columbia tragedy.
Those firsts — in 1995 on space shuttle Discovery when she was pilot and in 1999 on space shuttle Columbia when she was commander — put the spotlight on Collins. Collins told FLORIDA TODAY during an interview at Florida Tech this month that her “first” status got repeated often by NASA public affairs and outside media. She tried to not let it be the focus but the pressure was there.
“So when I made a mistake in the simulator, I would feel like ‘ah, Eileen, you can’t do that because you are representing women,” said Collins. “You’re the first. People are going to watch you and expect, or, I would say, assume, that that’s the way women operate.”
During the 2020 pandemic, Collins authored a book titled, “Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars,” coauthored by Jonathan H. Ward. Now her story has been made into a documentary called “Spacewoman,” which is being screened around the country and world. The film came to Florida Tech recently.
Collins initially reluctant to make the film
Collins said when she was contacted by Producer Keith Haviland about making the film, she initially wasn’t interested.
“No, absolutely no,” Collins told FLORIDA TODAY. “I didn’t want my life on the screen.”
Making a documentary went beyond just giving up privacy– it involved looking for old photos, and making time for filming and interviews. And film crews had to interview people close to Collins. All that led her to refuse the offer for almost a year before she relented.
“The reason I said yes is I had to stop being selfish and just thinking about me and think about the message and how that would help other people,” said Collins.
First woman to pilot and command a NASA space shuttle
The NASA space shuttle landed 133 times, yet only three of those landings were overeseen by a female commander. The landing is the responsibility of the commander, and Collins got to fulfil that role twice. The only other female to command a space shuttle mission was Pam Melroy.
Being the first female to break such a huge barrier — in a field largely dominated by males — is not an easy task to keep in the back of one’s mind.
“I would just do the best job I could,” said Collins.
Collins said the pressure wasn’t all bad, and she was aware that she was doing this not only for herself but for future female astronauts.
And she always thrived under pressure.
“I think that you can compare it to athletes that are out there performing in front of a giant audience, and while you have the audience watching you, you’re more nervous. Your heart rate goes up, but you push yourself to do a better job,” said Collins.
Commanding the return to flight post tragedy
After achieving those firsts as commander and pilot, another challenge came when Collins’ next scheduled mission happened to be the return to flight after the 2003 Columbia tragedy. Columbia broke apart as it returned from a 15 day mission, killing all seven astronauts onboard.
Collins said even throughout the lengthy investigation, she never considered not flying again.
“I wanted to be the commander of that mission. There was no way I was going to quit that mission. I knew that the country − the leadership of the country as a whole − was talking about shutting down the shuttle program. I was very much opposed to that,” said Collins.
The accident occurred due to falling foam off the external tank that struck Columbia’s wing upon liftoff, breaching the heatshield. After the end of their stay on the station, as the shuttle sped back through the atmosphere to bring the crew home, temperatures reached upwards of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The smallest breach could be disastrous, and the weakened shield led to the breakup.
Collins said she tried to rally people together to keep the shuttle flying. She spoke with management and government contractors who constructed and maintained the shuttle.
“I knew that we needed the shuttle to build the space station, but on the other hand, we had seven astronauts that just lost their lives, and if we had shut down the shuttle program, that was like saying what they died for wasn’t worth it,” said Collins.
As 2005 approached, and the investigation into the accident wrapped up, NASA switched to a “return to flight” mode. But upon the launch of STS-114, it turned out the space shuttle still had issues. Foam again fell from the shuttle’s external tank on liftoff. Collins said the foam came specifically from the protuberance aerodynamic load (PAL) ramp on the space shuttle’s external tank. That protects sensitive cables and lines from the forces of launch.
NASA, now watching carefully, spotted the liftoff anomaly.
“That went right under our wing, and it just missed hitting us. And that was a big failure. That was a big mistake,” said Collins.
The crew safely reached orbit and NASA rushed to determine all was clear for the shuttle to make it home through reentry. It was, but as a result, the shuttle was grounded again until July 2006. It would fly its remaining flights without a PAL ramp.
The two mishaps in a row caused NASA to rethink the future of human spaceflights, leading to the return of crew capsules with the SpaceX Dragon and the Boeing Starliner, which sit on top of the rocket as opposed to on the side.
“So what we’ve learned in the end is we will never, ever again have a launch vehicle where the heat shield is exposed to falling debris,” said Collins.
NASA retires the space shuttle, with a switch to SpaceX Dragon
“I believe that (was) one of the two top reasons we stopped flying the shuttle,” said Collins. “The second one was the fact that there was not a crew escape system on the shuttle.”
If there had been an explosion on the launch pad, the only chance at escape from the space shuttle was through a side hatch. With a capsule, there is the option to eject away from the rocket and into the ocean under parachute.
Collins noted that despite its faults, the shuttle had good features. It could land on a runway, which is not only practical, but less jarring on the crew than an ocean splashdown.
The shuttle retired in 2011. And with NASA switching focus to return to the moon, the agency contracted with private companies for a crew capsule to keep astronauts flying to the space station. The result is what we see today. SpaceX and Boeing won the Commercial Crew Program contracts.
Collins reflects on film
Collins said she hopes the documentary will inspire future generations, and she’s grateful for the film crew that made it happen.
“They did a wonderful job,” Collins said. “Most of the music is original music. They hired a composer. They hired an orchestra.”
Collins said the music helps viewers feel their way through the film, and she hopes its effective.
Expect to find “Spacewoman” available for streaming in 2026.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
