Colonel Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle, and the person NASA trusted to lead the program back into space after the loss of Columbia. But her story is about so much more than the milestones.

In this episode, Sarah Al-Ahmed sits down with Eileen Collins to discuss “Spacewoman,” a new documentary written and directed by Hannah Berryman, based on Collins' book “Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission.” They talk about what drove her to keep pushing forward, the personal cost of pursuing an extraordinary career, and what it means to break barriers, not just for yourself, but for everyone who comes after you.

Then, Bruce Betts, our Chief Scientist, joins us for What's Up to explore what distinguished pilots and commanders from mission specialists in the space shuttle era, and why that distinction was so critical to Eileen's path to the commander's seat.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-spacewoman