Eileen Collins (born 1956) became the first woman to pilot a U.S. space shuttle and the first woman to command a U.S. space flight.

On February 4, 1995, at 12:22 a.m. in Cape Canaveral, Florida, thousands of people held their breath as Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins launched the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery into the heavens on her first mission as pilot.

Flames burst from the shuttle's engines as smoke enveloped the launch pad. During the shuttle's violent ascent, acceleration is so forceful that the astronauts are pinned against their seats and breathe with difficulty as G-forces pound against their chests. The shuttle approaches an escape velocity of 3,000 miles per hour and later accelerates to 17,500 miles per hour. From her position inside the craft, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins handled the takeoff with extraordinary confidence.

Perhaps piloting the shuttle seemed to be all in a day's...