TULSA, Okla. — Colonel Eileen Collins is no stranger to Oklahoma having started her training and career in the state.
"I was in the first class of women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid and there were four of us," she said.
The Air Force was impressed with Collins that they wanted to have her back to teach others.
"I was a student at Vance Air Force Base in 1978 and they brought me back as an instructor from 1979 to 1982," Collins explained.
You could say Oklahoma prepared her well for her later successful space shuttle missions.
"I felt like because what I had been through in Enid many years earlier I was really prepared for going in there and doing my job the best I can," she said.
NASA called her later on and her dreams came true. They told her that she would be the first woman pilot of the space shuttle.
She felt confident that she was ready for the task at hand. Eileen would pilot two missions and command the last two before her retirement.
"I felt like I was very well prepared. So, I saw it really as a challenge that was the opportunity of a lifetime," Collins said.
Eileen is a big advocate for girls getting a STEM education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
"Traditionally, young girls don't think STEM is for them. They think oh that's for boys. That was very true in my generation, but there are people that still think that way. So, I like to tell the young girls you know that these fields are for you also," she said.
Her book came out in late 2021 that she co-authored with Jonathan Ward and has been busy traveling to promote it. She said it was challenging writing it at times.
"I would say it was challenging because I didn't write the whole thing from memory. Most of it was from memory, but I had to go back through my log books, through my training manuals. Between Jonathan and I, we would call people and interview. We wanted to make sure that the book was accurate," Collins said.
She is excited about Artemis and our further exploration of the moon in the next several years.
"Baby steps of building a space station or you could call it a research station at the south pole of the moon," she explained.
Exploring the moon with Artemis is what will eventually get astronauts to the red planet.
"We want to learn how to live on another moon...planet...safely, so we can go to Mars," Collins said.
If you want the chance to meet Collins, you can come out to the museum Saturday 3/25 from 9am to 5pm. She'll be signing her book at 12pm. Events end around 5pm.
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