Michael Collins (astronaut)

Michael Collins was born on October 31, 1930, in Rome, Italy, the second son of a career Army officer. The family moved often before settling in Washington, D.C., where he graduated from St. Albans School.⁠[1][2]

In 1952 he graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree and entered the U.S. Air Force that year.⁠[1][2]

After completing training at the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School, he served as an experimental flight test officer at Edwards Air Force Base, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry, testing mainly jet fighters.⁠[2][1]

In October 1963 he was named to NASA’s third group of astronauts.⁠[1]

On July 18, 1966, he launched as pilot of Gemini X with command pilot John W. Young on a three-day mission that included two periods of extravehicular activity. Using the engines of the Agena target vehicle, the crew reached a record altitude of 764 km (475 miles); on a spacewalk he handled micrometeorite experiment equipment and retrieved an instrument from the Agena, but his activity was cut short because the spacecraft was low on fuel. The crew returned to Earth on July 21.⁠[1][3]

On July 16, 1969, he launched aboard Apollo 11 with commander Neil ArmstrongNeil ArmstrongNeil Armstrong (1930–2012) was an American astronaut. On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 mission, he became the first person to set foot on the Moon.Open the full entry and lunar module pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former NASA astronaut who performed three extravehicular activities on Gemini XII in 1966 and, as Apollo 11 lunar module pilot in 1969, became the second person to walk on the Moon.Open the full entry While Armstrong and Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the Moon on July 20, he remained in lunar orbit in the command module Columbia and performed the final redocking; the two rejoined him on July 21, and the spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific on July 24.⁠[3][1][4]

He left NASA in January 1970. He had been appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs on December 15, 1969, with TexasTexasTexas is a U.S. state in the south-central United States, with its capital at Austin and its largest city Houston. It was admitted to the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 29,145,505 residents.Open the full entry listed as his state of residence; he entered on duty on January 6, 1970, and left the post on April 11, 1971.⁠[1][5]

In 1971 he became the third director of the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is a museum, education and research institution created by the U.S. Congress in 1846 with the bequest of the English scientist James Smithson. Based in Washington, D.C., it runs museums such as the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History, as well as the National Zoo.Open the full entry’s National Air and Space Museum. With the support of Senator Barry Goldwater he secured funding for a new building, which broke ground in 1972, and he worked to complete it in time for the nation’s bicentennial. The building opened on July 1, 1976, when President Gerald FordGerald FordGerald Ford (1913–2006) was an American politician who represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973 and became House minority leader in 1965. In 1973 he became the first vice president appointed under the 25th Amendment, and after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 he served as the 38th president of the United States until 1977.Open the full entry called it “a perfect birthday present from the American people to themselves,” and it drew about one million visitors in its first month.⁠[2]

In 1978 he became an undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution.⁠[2][3]

From 1980 to 1985 he was vice president for field operations at Vought Corporation, an American aerospace company.⁠[3]

He died on April 28, 2021, in Naples, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a U.S. state occupying mainly the Florida peninsula, with its capital at Tallahassee; its most populous city is Jacksonville. It entered the Union on March 3, 1845, as the 27th state, and had a population of 21,538,187 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, at age 90. His family said he died after a long fight with cancer. Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk called him “a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration.”⁠[3][6]

He wrote four books, including the memoir Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1974, and Liftoff (1988).⁠[3][1][2]

He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a major general. His honors included the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1969), the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings and the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.⁠[1]

NASA’s biographical data of September 2015 records that he was married to Patricia M. Finnegan of Boston and that they had three grown children, two daughters and a son.⁠[1]

NASA: Official website: https://www.nasa.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[7]

Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State (Michael Collins service record): Web page: https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/collins-michael (opens in a new window).⁠[5]

Smithsonian Institution (The Torch memorial article): Web page: https://torch.si.edu/2021/04/remembering-michael-collins (opens in a new window).⁠[2]