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 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 first published in 2005, by Simon & Schuster. The book describes Armstrong's involvement in the United States space program (culminating with the historic Apollo 11 mission), and details his personal life and upbringing. The book has received a warm reception from several individuals associated with astronomy and the promotion of spaceflight.