Eileen Collins is the first female commander of a Space Shuttle. It’s the Space Shuttle Columbia, and it successfully orbits the Chandrasekar telescope, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever launched. On the ground, the women of the so-called Mercury 13 group witnessed the event. These are the women who participated in a selection program for Mercury missions in the 1960s and, despite meeting the requirements, were not able to join the missions. They are Jerrie Cobb, Jane Hart, Wally Funk, Jerry Sloan Tryhill, Sarah Gorelick Ratley, Irene Leverton, Bernice “B” Steadman, Rhea Hurrle Woltman, Jan Dietrich, Myrtle Cagle, and Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen. Also absent from the program were Jean Hixson, and Jan and Marion Dietrich. Eileen Collins became the first female commander of the shuttle, and she did so while carrying the heaviest payload ever. During their night launch, a main engine suffered a combustion chamber rupture, causing excess fuel flow that nearly caused a premature shutdown before reaching orbit. Additionally, an electrical short disabled the engine controllers just 5 seconds into the flight. This was recovered by the redundant set, but it may have caused two engines to shut down and required an RTLS abort. Ultimately, everything went smoothly, but two “unusual” anomalies during a flight shortened the lives of several controllers.
