This article is from page 14 of the 2005-08-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
HAVING already cele- loye-1 Kore Mec Merey et elecersCeyeMmyaine| the man that captured Sadam Hussein, there was further excitement this week when it was discovered that the pilot of the Discovery Shuttle is of West Clare origin.
Space hero Eileen Col- lins 1s proud of her Irish heritage. The 49-year- old’s grandmother Marie Reidy emigrated from West Clare and settled in a railroad town of Elmira decades ago.
She later married a man named Collins from Cork.
Two generations in 1956 Eileen was born.
Although Eileen was 19 years of age before she was even on a plane, she became the American Air Force’s first female test pilot.
“Eileen Collins is sim- ply the best commander we have,” Nasa senior as- tronaut told Good Morn- ing America.
On ‘Tuesday last she proved her extraordinary ability when she safely guided the spacecraft STS 114, better known as Discovery, to Earth.
Although travelling at 18 times the speed of light, this mother of two
does not believe what she does is dangerous.
““T think it is much safer than what my Irish ances- tors did, travelling across the Athlantic Ocean in a leaky old ship,” she told an Irish American maga- zine.
During her time in the military she earned the rank of lieutenant colonel and several services med- als, but always dreamt of joining the space pro- eramme.
Finally, after 12 years in the army, Nasa invited Eileen to be its first fe- male pilot in 1990.
The rest 1s Space his- Ke) ars