The most authentic account comes from those who have experienced it firsthand, and regarding breaking barriers and overcoming obstacles at NASA during the Space Shuttle era, Col. Eileen Collins is the ...

San Antonio’s Eileen Collins, the subject of the new documentary Spacewoman, was in fourth grade when she read a Junior Scholastic magazine article about astronauts in the U.S. Gemini space program.

Eileen Collins flew into outer space four times and was the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft. (SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SPACEWOMAN") UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We are go for launch.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We are go for launch. MICHAEL LEINBACH: OK, Eileen, our long wait may be over. EILEEN COLLINS: The space shuttle program was riding on it. The whole American space program ...

Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot a space craft. A new documentary charts her path to the stars. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Collins and film director Hannah Berryman. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: ...