[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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  RECOGNITION OF LT. COL. EILEEN COLLINS, THE FIRST WOMAN SELECTED TO 
                 COMMAND A MISSION OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE

 Mr. MOYNIHAM. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the 
accomplishments of Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, a New York native who 
earlier this morning was named the first female space shuttle commander 
by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
  Ms. Collins was born in Elmira, New York and graduated from the 
Elmira Free Academy in 1974. She received her associate's degree in 
mathematics and science form Corning Community College in 1976, and a 
Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Syracuse University in 
1978. Ms. Collins later received graduate degrees in operations 
research and space systems management at Stanford University and 
Webster University.
  Ms. Collins has logged over 4,700 hours in thirty different types of 
aircraft. She was an assistant professor of mathematics at the Air 
Force Academy in Colorado from 1986 to 1989 and also served as an 
instructor pilot during her time there. Her many awards include the 
Department of Defense Superior Service Medal, the Armed Forces 
Expeditionary Medal for service in Grenada, and the NASA Space Flight 
Medal.
  Lt. Col. Collins has soared to great heights, both literally and 
figuratively. She is, in several senses, a modern day pioneer. Her 
career has already been distinguished by efforts to push forward the 
frontiers of knowledge, through her work as a scientist and as a 
professor. She has contributed to efforts to bridge gaps between Russia 
and the Untied States, though her service as the first woman to pilot 
the space shuttle during the first flight of the new joint Russian-
American Space Program--a program which embodies our vision of a new 
era of international scientific collaboration. Moreover, she is a 
member of an elite cadre of women who have served in our astronaut 
program. Ms. Collins is one of only 27 women who have flown in the 
history of the U.S. space shuttle program, out of a total of 229 
people. Today, she steps up to her place in history as the first woman 
to be assigned command of a space shuttle mission, and in so doing 
expands our national vision of the opportunities and possibilities open 
to all American women.
  I am proud to claim Lt. Col. Collins as a native of New York State, 
and as a product of New York educational institutions through her 
undergraduate years. Good luck, congratulations, and Godspeed, Lt. Col. 
Collins.

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