Mike Collins Biography

Fast Facts

• Joined the Air Force after graduating from West Point and was an experimental flight test officer at the Air Force Flight Test Center in California
• Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 and also received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings
• Graduated from the U․S․ Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952
• Was part of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and was a backup pilot for the Gemini VII mission before going into space for the first time as a pilot on Gemini X
• Quote: "[Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and I were all born] in 1930․ We came along at exactly the right time․ We survived hazardous careers and were successful․․․But in my own case․․․it was 10% shrewd planning and 90% blind luck․ Put Lucky on my tombstone․"
• Quote: "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life․ I am it․ If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side․"
• Quote: "(On his Apollo 11 companions possibly being stranded on the Moon): "My secret terror for the last six months has been leaving them on the Moon and returning to Earth alone․․․If they fail to rise from the surface․․․I will be a marked man for life․""
• As the command module pilot for Apollo 11, he was stationed aboard the command module Columbia while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to stand on the Moon
• Best known as a former astronaut and test pilot who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 Moon mission
• Was the Director of the National Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D․C․ for eight years
• Is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics