Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins retires

|
|
 
  
Published: May 1, 2006 at 11:58 AM
Advertisement

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle, has announced her retirement.

Collins, the pilot of the shuttle Discovery's return to flight mission last year, plans to pursue private interests and spend more time with family.

"Eileen Collins is a living, breathing example of the best that our nation has to offer," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. "She is, of course, a brave, superb pilot and a magnificent crew commander. Beyond those qualities, she is both very bright and modestly self-effacing about that fact.

"And above all," added Griffin, "she is possessed of a quiet determination to attain the very highest levels of accomplishment. I am proud to know her and will greatly miss her at NASA."

A veteran of four space flights, Collins was selected as an astronaut in 1990 and went on to become the first woman selected as a pilot astronaut, the first woman to serve as a shuttle pilot and the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft.

Topics: Eileen Collins, Michael Griffin
© 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Notable deaths of 2012 AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala Indianapolis 500
BAFTA awards Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 Memorial Day around the nation
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 28
Lori Anne Madison, 6, competes in Scripps National Spelling Bee
View Caption
Lori Anne Madison, 6, of Woodbridge, Virginia, spells out the letters in her word as she competes during the opening round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 30, 2012, in National Harbor, Maryland. Madison, the youngest known qualifier in the history of the contest, correctly spelled the word "dirigible*", a lighter-than-air aircraft, to advance. UPI/Mike Theiler
fark
Annoying co-worker has a habit of leaving his computer unlocked. I'm thinking of adding "Smoke weed...
You rode a scooter to a murder? Son, I am disappoint
10 greatest moments in political misspellings
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's incurable metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma only has a few months left...
Authoritarian regime stops the rest of the world from stopping authoritarian regime
Is Mitt Romney actually a unicorn, and thus ineligible for the presidency? We're just asking questions...