Michael Collins (astronaut) Michael Collins (astronaut) Michael Collins (born October 31, 1930) (Major General, USAF, Retired) is an American former astronaut and test pilot. Selected as part of the third group of fourteen astronauts in 1963, he flew into space twice. His first spaceflight was on Gemini 10, in which he and Command Pilot John Young performed two rendezvous with different spacecraft and undertook two extra-vehicular activities (EVAs, also known as spacewalks). His second spaceflight was as the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 11. While he stayed in orbit around the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left in the Lunar Module to
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong Man" project in the mid-2010s. Damien Chazelle, a director receiving critical acclaim for his work in 2016's "La La Land", signed onto the film's production. Actor Ryan Gosling, who starred in "La La Land", joined as well. Given his role as the book's author, Hansen was attached to co-produce the movie. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong is the official biography of Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the first man to walk on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. The book was written by James R. Hansen, and was