Eileen CollinsEileen Collins aboard the Shuttle. Read about Eileen Collins -- NASA's first female shuttle commander. Before her, shuttle commanders had been only men, mostly due to the fact that shuttle commanders were chosen from the ranks of pilots who had logged hours flying test aircraft. That's still true, and Eileen Collins served in the ranks of the test pilots. Due to the recent drop in US manned missions to space however, there hasn't been many opportunities for other women to join Eileen Collins -- so to date, she remains the only female to have commanded a shuttle mission.

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