Colonel. Eileen Collins retires

Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle flight, has retired from NASA at age 49. The former Air Force colonel's four-flight career will be remembered for two missions in particular. She became the first woman to command a Shuttle flight, which made her the first to command any crew in space. That flight was made in 1999 on the orbiter Columbia. In 2005, she commanded the orbiter Discovery on STS-114, the first mission after the 2003 Columbia disaster. That mission involved several firsts, including the first spacewalk to repair a shuttle. Her future endeavors are yet to be determined, but she's earned her place in history.