How Astronaut Eileen Collins' Alcoholic Dad Gave Her Confidence: 'Never Felt Intimidated Working with Men' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Spacewoman

Spacewoman

Astronaut Eileen Collins says her father unintentionally prepared her for a career working primarily with men.

The retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force colonel was one of four children. When she was 9 years old, her parents, James and Rose, separated. Although she “had a great relationship” with them, both of her “parents had a lot of problems,” she says.

“I learned [when] I’d watch them go through life and deal with their problems,” she explains. “That gave me a way of thinking and a way of problem-solving, in a way of just pushing on and dealing with life, having watched them.”

Eileen Collins at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, 1990.Space Frontiers/Getty

Space Frontiers/Getty

The documentary reveals that her father was an alcoholic, and she elaborates on their relationship during her PEOPLE interview. “He tried to quit over and over again, but he never could. I never quite understood that, but my mother always told me, ‘Your father has a disease. You need to treat it that way.’ ”

Collins says her father, who was a bartender, was “very wise” and “got all of his wisdom from” behind the bar.

Because of conversations she had with her father when he drank, she “learned how men think.” Their talks continued when she started college. “He would stay up late at night, and he’d be putting the beers down, and he would be talking about everything,” she recalls. “I really got into his head to listen. He did all the talking, but I would really listen to him.”

Eileen Collins in ‘Spacewoman’.Spacewoman

“I never felt intimidated working with men,” she continues. “I’m sure that my presence as a woman kind of shook up the way the men interacted with each other.”

“It was actually kind of fun. And I actually enjoyed working with the guys,” she adds. “I think we learned to kind of be one of the guys." But she notes, “It’s hard to describe” how she learned to adapt. “You try to be one of the guys, but you’re not actually one of the guys.”

Eileen Collins during the STS-63 mission in February 1995.Space Frontiers/Getty

“I told my dad, ‘The Air Force will pay for my college tuition,’ " she recalls. “And he didn’t say no. He didn’t say anything. So I just joined them.”

Eventually, as Collins climbed the ranks, her parents were “very supportive” and watched her launches.

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Spacewomanis streamingon the DOC NYC website until Dec. 1. Tickets can be purchasedhere.

source: people.com