‘Farther, Faster, Higher’: An Astronaut’s Life Mission

With grit and hard work, Eileen Collins soared into history as the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft.

Eileen Collins, with her daughter Bridget, then 3, in 1998. Courtesy of Haviland Digital in association with Tigerlily Productions

After reading a story about the Gemini astronauts in the Junior Scholastic Magazine in her fourth-grade classroom, Eileen Collins had her future decided.

“I just wanted to be just like those guys,” the retired U.S. Air Force colonel told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.