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Michael Collins
By Maisy

Michael Collins was the Command Module pilot for Apollo 11. The 1969 American space mission which landed the first humans on the moon.

Collins graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1952, and flew fighters on peacetime assignment in Europe.

In 1960, he became an Air Force test pilot. In 1963, he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [ N.A.S.A.] and began  as an astronaut.

Collins orbited the earth as pilot for the Gemini X Mission in 1966, during which he completed two space walks.

In 1969, he joined Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as a member of the three man crew of Apollo 11, the first  manned mission to land on the moon. Collins circled the moon in the command module, Colombia, while Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the surface in the lunar module Eagle and the walk to the moon. The mission ran from July 16-24 of 1969. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface July 20th and made all three men lasting public figures.
Collins retired from N.A.S.A in 1970 and later became head of the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. His books included 1967 and Lift Off. After leaving N.A.S.A Collins served as Assistant Secretary of State of Public Affairs 1970 until April 1971. He then became Director of National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., guiding the prestigious institution through the continuous planning of its fabulous facilities. He currently serves as an executive in the aerospace industry.

Michael Collins graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1952 choosing flight test center Edwards AFB, California. He tested performance ability and control characters of jet and filters. Logging more than 4,200 hours flying time, Apollo 11 blasted off July 16-24, 1969, and included the first lunar landing, the Command module: Colombia [CSM-107.], and lunar module: eagle (1M-5). He was selected as an astronaut in 1963. His first crew assignment was as back up on the Gemini VII mission. Born in Rome, Italy October 31, 1930. Married to the former Patria M. Finn of Boston, Massachusetts, they have three grown children (two daughters and one son). His hobbies include fishing and handball.
 
 

Credits:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins-m.html

http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aerojava/collins.htm

Pictures:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins-m.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-collins-astronaut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)