Reaching for the stars, with a guide

  • Published
  • By Stephen M. Fuller
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  In the middle of a circle of children at the Vance Air Force Base Youth Center, Eileen Collins, a 1979 Vance Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (JSUPT) graduate, stood tall on a piece of carpet depicting space - - the frontier she spent over 872 hours exploring. 

Around her were 16 children hanging on her every word. Colonel Collins, a retired astronaut from NASA and also a first assignment instructor pilot at Vance, visited the youth center to talk to the kids and answer their questions. She came bearing many gifts for the kids, from pamphlets and autographed photographs to an activity designed to teach youth about space. 

Before taking questions, she asked each child his or her name. She explained, with a smile, that she had greatly enjoyed her time at Vance. She had piloted the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon. Colonel Collins enthusiastically shared her story, describing the three different shuttles she was a part of after graduating pilot training from Vance. She said a space shuttle flies Mach 25, which is over 19,000 mph. "You can essentially travel around the earth in 90 minutes, which is about the length of three TV shows." 

After that, the barrage of questions began. One of the more prevalent questions was what space was like. After thinking for a moment, Colonel Collins said, "Space is really a lot of fun." Explaining how zero-gravity feels, she said, "It's a lot like jumping on a trampoline. That moment when you are hanging in the air is what floating around space in a suit feels like all the time, including on the shuttle." 

One child asked what her favorite thing in space was. Without skipping a beat, she talked about what you see from the shuttle window. "You can see cities, stars, entire countries. My favorite thing about space is looking out the window because of the breathtaking scenery." 

Because being in space carries intense physical and mental demands, Colonel Collins explained, you had to find ways to entertain yourself. One of her favorite activities was to toss a softball back and forth with another crew member. "You could catch the ball with your teeth because objects in space travel along a straight line." To move around, she explained, "There are cloth loops on the floors of the shuttle that help you pivot. It can be awkward at first, but you get the hang of it." 

Another question was if she had been anywhere near the sun. "No. The sun is far too hot for astronauts to get close to it. They have missions, though, to study it from afar. That was what the Ulysses did." She also addressed the concerns of the children about Pluto's fate. "All of the world's scientists got together and looked at the definition of what a planet was, and decided Pluto just didn't fit. I still think of Pluto as a planet."
After making sure each child had a chance to ask a question, she explained how a spacewalk works. "You are out on the walk [in space] for about six and a half hours, and it is very physically demanding. It takes three hours just to get ready for the walk, with most of the time going to putting on your suit." 

At the end of her talk, the children presented her with a handful of gifts they made. She received a taupe bag that said, "Vance Youth Center." Colonel Collins took a moment to reflect on the gift. "I was looking to buy something just like this. Thank you."