‘It’s more difficult to raise a child than to command the space shuttle’, says NASA pioneer to the BBC

She is the astronaut who broke the “glass ceiling”. And it went further.

Eileen Collins made history by becoming the first woman to pilot and command a NASA spacecraft. But, despite his remarkable achievements, his career is little known by people.

Collins says being a mother and a commander were “the two best jobs in the world.”

Now, a documentary that narrates his pioneering trajectory, called Spacewoman (“Mulher do Espaço”, in free translation, with no scheduled release date in Brazilian cinemas), seeks to change this lack of popular recognition.

The BBC spoke to Collins at the Science Museum in London.

She is soft-spoken, welcoming and down-to-earth, but you quickly notice her concentration and determination. There is firmness behind the calm voice.

“I was reading an article about the astronauts in the Gemini program [conduzido pela Nasa entre 1961 e 1966]. I must have been about nine years old and I thought: this is the most incredible thing in the world. That’s what I want to do”, he says.

“Of course, at that time, there were no female astronauts. But I thought, I’m going to be a female astronaut.”

That little girl, however, dreamed even bigger: she wanted to be in command of a spaceship.

And the only way to do that was to join the Armed Forces and become a test pilot.

In the Air Force, Collins excelled and was selected to join the astronaut program. She would fly space shuttles, as NASA’s “space planes” are called.

Collins knew the eyes of the world were on her when her first mission took off in 1995.

“As the first woman to pilot the space shuttle, I worked hard because I didn’t want people to say, ‘Look, the woman made a mistake’. It wasn’t just about me, it was about the women who would come later,” she says.

“And I wanted the reputation of women pilots to be, ‘Hey, they’re really good.’”

She was so competent that she was soon promoted to commander, another unprecedented feat.

Collins was also the mother of two young children. Being a wife, mother and astronaut was frequently mentioned in press conferences at the time, and some journalists seemed surprised by the idea that she could be all three at the same time.

But Collins says being a mother and a commander were “the two best jobs in the world.”

“I’ll tell you one thing: it’s harder to raise a child than to command a space shuttle,” he jokes.

“The best training I ever had to be a commander was being a mother, because you learn to say no to people.”

NASA’s space shuttles, which have flown for three decades, have achieved impressive feats but also faced tragedies.

In 1986, the Challenger spacecraft suffered a catastrophic failure seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members on board.

And, in 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the skies over Texas at the end of its mission, also with the death of seven astronauts.

A piece of insulating foam from Columbia’s fuel tank came loose during launch, damaging the heat shield, with devastating consequences.

The ship did not survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated before the astonished eyes of the world.

Collins shakes his head as he remembers the disaster and the friends who lost their lives.

But, as commander, she needed to take responsibility, she would be in charge of the next flight in the program.

Did she even think about giving up at that moment?

“People throughout the shuttle program were counting on the commander to move forward,” she says quietly.

“I think giving up on the mission would have been the opposite of courage… And I wanted to be a courageous leader. I wanted to be a confident leader. I wanted to convey that confidence to other people.”

When its mission finally took off in 2005, the nightmare repeated itself: a piece of foam came loose during launch.

This time, however, there was a plan to check the damage, but it required one of the riskiest maneuvers in space history.

Collins had to pilot the space shuttle in a complete 360-degree turn while flying under the International Space Station.

The maneuver allowed colleagues in the orbiting laboratory to photograph the underside of the spacecraft and see if the heat shield had been compromised.

“There were engineers and managers saying it wouldn’t be possible and listing all the reasons why it was too dangerous,” he says.

“I heard the whole discussion, they knew I was the commander, and I said: ‘It looks like we can do it’.”

With his hands steady on the controls and his voice calm as he spoke to the command center, Collins piloted the ship in a slow, graceful somersault through space.

With the bottom now visible, the damage was quickly identified and a spacewalk was undertaken to make the repair.

The maneuver ensured that Collins and his crew returned home safely.

That was Collins’ last flight. She says she always planned to stop after the fourth mission, to give others the opportunity to go to space.

Since then, he has seen many female astronauts follow in his footsteps.

And what advice would you give to the new generation that dreams of the stars?

“Do your homework, listen to the teacher, pay attention in class and read books, this will help you concentrate”, he says, in a direct tone.

Those who follow Collins into space will discover how much she accomplished, not just as a woman, but as an exceptional pilot and commander.

She says she has no regrets about ending her astronaut career. She made the decision and hasn’t looked back.

Still, a slight nostalgic glow appears in his eyes when we ask if he would agree to return to the space if a vacancy arose.

“Yes, I would love to go on a mission someday. When I’m an old lady, maybe I’ll have the chance to go back to space.”