[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 19818]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATING EILEEN COLLINS

 Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I would like to add to the 
Record my most heartfelt congratulations to Eileen Collins for her 
recent induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. As an Elmira, 
NY, native, Eileen is the first female pilot and commander of a NASA 
shuttle. She has orbited the Earth 573 times. As a child, Eileen was 
inspired to be a pilot by watching the planes over the Elmira-Corning 
Regional Airport and the Harris Hill glider field. She joined the Air 
Force in 1978 and was recruited to join NASA as one of its earliest 
female pilots in 1990. The communities of New York's Southern Tier are 
so proud of Eileen's historic achievements.
  As the first female pilot and shuttle commander, Eileen Collins is an 
inspiration and true role model to girls and young women nationwide. 
Her achievements prove that women everywhere can, and should, reach for 
the stars.

                          ____________________