Eileen Collins: First female pilot and commander of a Space Shuttle

<p>Eileen Collins is a retired <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut">astronaut</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force">United States Air Force</a> <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel">colonel</a>. She was the first female pilot and first female commander of a <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle">Space Shuttle</a>. Eileen has been recognized by <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a> as one of the top <a href= "http://www.britannica.com/women">300 women in history</a> who have changed the world.  She has been inducted into the <a href= "https://web.archive.org/web/19981111190533/http:/greatwomen.org/">National Women's Hall Of Fame</a> and the <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Astronaut_Hall_of_Fame">United States Astronaut Hall of Fame</a>.  Her new book is called <em>Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission</em>.</p> <div> <p> </p> </div> <p>Some interesting insights from this episode:</p> <ul> <li>Her father was an alcoholic and her mother was institutionalized but she didn’t let anything from her childhood define her for the rest of her life.</li> <li>She never shared her dream of becoming an astronaut with anyone until she got accepted into the astronaut training program. She didn’t feel anyone would be supportive. </li> <li>It takes a tremendous amount of focus and discipline to fly a jet but she wasn’t always wired that way. These are skills that can be learned.</li> <li>When she gets nervous, to calm herself down, she would envision herself not as Eileen Collins but as the Commander of a spaceship.</li> <li>To be a good leader, you have to learn to listen to others and to be humble when you listen to them. People won’t respect you as a leader if you’re telling others what to do all the time.</li> <li>An investigation into the Space Shuttle