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 to that airport." The young Armstrong becomes a naval aviator. Management of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) takes an interest in Armstrong's combination of calmness and personal skill coupled with his above-average intellect. Although contrasting somewhat with many of his colleagues, the Apollo 11 crew winding up as "amiable strangers", he attracts widespread respect. The fact that Armstrong gets chosen to be "first down" on the lunar surface is a surprise, with astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. being expected to get priority. The mission itself proceeds spectacularly well, and Armstrong gives his famous line: "That's one small step