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Eileen Collins
Eileen Collins
Colonel Collins was the first woman to be in charge of a Space Shuttle mission!

Eileen Collins was born in Elmira, New York in 1956. She always wanted to become a pilot. When she was a child, her parents often took her to the airport to see the planes. Eileen was a very good student. She earned a scholarship to attend Syracuse University. After college she went into the Air Force. The Air Force trained her to become a pilot. She learned to fly many different kinds of planes. In 1991, Eileen Collins became an astronaut. She was the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle. Colonel Collins is married and has a daughter. When she has free time she likes to run, play golf and go camping. After four space flights, Eileen Collins retired from NASA in 2006.

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How did Eileen Collins learn to fly planes?

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