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  • 3 months ago
Explores achievements of Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft, paving the way for the next | dG1fWW5ocUhkeE5zZ2s
Transcript
00:00So Eileen, what makes a good astronaut?
00:05I'm proud to congratulate Colonel Eileen Collins
00:07on becoming the first woman to command a space shuttle mission.
00:14Commander.
00:15Eileen Collins and her baby girl standing up for mommy.
00:20She would tell me to hope for the best, but expect the worst.
00:24I've been flying since I was 19 years old.
00:27I asked her out 10 minutes after I met her.
00:30I said, you don't waste any time, buddy.
00:33An astronaut is a person who does not fear problems,
00:36but yet sees problems as challenges.
00:39And frankly, exciting.
00:42My mom had a childhood where there was quite a bit of violence.
00:46My dad would come home drunk and get into a fight with my mom.
00:50It was unpredictable.
00:51That was the scariest thing about it.
00:53I learned, don't show that you're afraid.
00:56That way you control any element of fear that might affect you.
01:00We had an accident.
01:05Frankly, we've had two accidents.
01:07Those were moms and dads, and they all died.
01:10There were people that wanted to shut down the shuttle program,
01:13but there was no way I was going to quit that mission.
01:17As astronauts, we live on the edge of danger.
01:19I couldn't believe how much anxiety I had built up.
01:23Mommy's the best.
01:24A seven-year-old version of myself was like,
01:27Mom is going to die in space.
01:29I don't need to be ready for that.
01:31I was willing to take that risk.
01:33Would a woman crack under pressure?
01:36There was a large part of the community that didn't just think she couldn't do it,
01:39but were probably actively rooting against her.
01:43She once told me it had to be better than the men to be equal.
01:46That's exactly what I want to do.
01:48Three, two, one.
01:51I think until we are tested,
01:55we don't know what we're capable of.
01:59Two, two.
02:14One, two.
02:16Four.
02:16Four.
02:18Four.
02:18Four.
02:19Four.
02:20Four.
02:21Four.
02:21Four.
02:22Five.
02:24Four.
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