Review of THROUGH THE GLASS CEILING TO THE STARS
The memoir of Col. Eileen Collins
Many kids grow up wanting to become an astronaut and fly on a space shuttle into space. But the reality is that few end up there. It’s a tough job and a long journey with only a handful of spots available for space missions each year.
Despite these realities, some do make it all the way to space. And beginning with Eileen Collins, more women can realize their space dreams. Collins was the first woman to pilot a US space shuttle and the first woman to command a space mission. Even as of today, she is one of only two women to hold the honor of commander. In Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission Col. Eileen Collins (along with Jonathan Ward) tells her story.
Collins comes from an unassuming background, growing up in a relatively quite New York state town. Growing up, she had an unwavering fascination with airplanes, flying, and the mathematics of it all. Once she obtained her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1978, she joined the US Air Force, breaking new ground at each stage of her impressive career. Finally reaching astronaut status in 1990, she became the first woman pilot of a space shuttle in 1995, then moving up to the impressive role of commander in 1999 when she led Columbia into space.
Through her long and impressive career (she retired from the Air Force in 2005 and from NASA in 2006), she remained steady set on her goals of moving up the ranks and taking on more responsibility in her roles. She is a true trailblazer for women in the Air Force and NASA with an impressive list of firsts and norm breaking.
Two things stood out to me while reading this book. The first is the bureaucracy of the Armed Forces. Collins seemed well suited to the environment though, expertly navigating and respecting the labyrinth of rules, forms, and procedures (even when they contradicted each other and almost prevented her advancement towards her goals). Relatedly, the other thing that stood out is that Collins is a woman of the bureaucracy. The way in which she comes off in the book is of someone who loves the rules and thrives within them. Someone never daring to break those rules, and someone who is ultra-serious all the time. Perhaps that’s what’s needed to break down barriers. But also, potentially not.
Overall, Through the Glass Ceiling and to the Stars was a good book and gave a lot of interesting insight into the background operations of NASA in the 90s, and just how much effort and planning goes into getting a space shuttle off the ground and into orbit. I listened to this on audio and a quirk of the narrator (who is not Collins) was her pronunciation of NASA – “na-SAW” – which honestly drove me up a wall every time.
Published: October 2021
Format: Audio
If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these other great reads:
Vera Rubin: A Life by Jacqueline Mitton and Simon Mitton (2021)
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (2021)
My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir by Katherine Johnson (with Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore) (2021)
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