Captain Eileen Collins: The First Woman To Command The Space Shuttle

Captain Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle, and she’s sharing what it really takes to become an astronaut and fly in space. She talks about her journey from Air Force pilot to NASA, the intense training process, and what stood out in her astronaut application. Eileen breaks down her first mission aboard Discovery, flying with a Russian cosmonaut and rendezvousing with the Mir space station, and explains what life is actually like in space – how astronauts eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom in zero gravity, plus the physical effects on the body and why salty food beats sugar. She also shares stories about in-flight dangers, space debris, and commanding NASA’s Return To Flight mission after the Columbia disaster. And hear her thoughts on future space travel, missions to the Moon and Mars, whether humans will live off Earth, and the truth about aliens. And she talks about her new documentary, Spacewoman. See Spacewoman in theaters this Friday, March 20th! Thank you for supporting our sponsors! Tellus: Learn more at or search Tellus in the Apple App Store or Android Store. Talk Is Jericho is available on YouTube! Don’t forget to Like,

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Captain Eileen Collins: The First Woman To Command The Space Shuttle is an episode from Talk Is Jericho by Chris Jericho.

This episode is 64:00 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2026.

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