{"id":33758,"date":"2021-04-28T19:42:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T19:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/28\/astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:02:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:02:27","slug":"astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2021\/04\/28\/astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 11 pilot, dies at 90"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apollo 11 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2019\/07\/17\/apollo-11-astronaut-returns-to-launch-pad-50-years-later\/\" target=_blank>astronaut Michael Collins<\/a>, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday of cancer, his family said. He was 90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins was part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2019\/07\/17\/apollo-11-astronaut-returns-to-launch-pad-50-years-later\/\" target=_blank>the three-man Apollo 11 crew<\/a> that effectively ended the space race between the United States and Russia and fulfilled President John F. Kennedy\u2019s challenge to reach the moon by the end of the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though he traveled some 238,000 miles to the moon and came within 69 miles, Collins never set foot on the lunar surface like his crewmates Aldrin and Armstrong, who died in 2012. None of the men flew in space after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/07\/13\/apollo-11-at-50-celebrating-first-steps-on-another-world\/\" target=_blank>the Apollo 11 mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand,\u201d Collins said on the 10th anniversary of the moon landing in 1979. \u201cExploration is not a choice really \u2014 it\u2019s an imperative, and it\u2019s simply a matter of timing as to when the option is exercised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk said: \u201cWhether his work was behind the scenes or on full view, his legacy will always be as one of the leaders who took America\u2019s first steps into the cosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/07\/13\/apollo-11-at-50-celebrating-first-steps-on-another-world\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MOON1A.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Apollo 11 at 50: Celebrating first steps on another world<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Hundreds of millions tuned in to radios or watched the grainy black-and-white images on TV as Apollo 11&#039;s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, in one of humanity&#039;s most glorious technological achievements.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins spent the eight-day mission piloting the command module. While Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the moon\u2019s surface in the lunar lander, Eagle, Collins remained alone in the command module, Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI guess you\u2019re about the only person around that doesn\u2019t have TV coverage of the scene,\u201d Mission Control radioed Collins after the landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s all right. I don\u2019t mind a bit,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins was alone for nearly 28 hours before Armstrong and Aldrin finished their tasks on the moon\u2019s surface and lifted off in the lunar lander. Collins was responsible for re-docking the two spacecraft before the men could begin heading back to Earth. Had something gone wrong and Aldrin and Armstrong been stuck on the moon\u2019s surface \u2014 a real fear \u2014 Collins would have returned to Earth alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though he was frequently asked if he regretted not landing on the moon, that was never an option for Collins, at least not on Apollo 11. Collins\u2019 specialty was as a command module pilot, a job he compared to being the base-camp operator on a mountain climbing expedition. As a result, it meant he wasn\u2019t considered to take part in the July 20, 1969, landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have,\u201d he wrote in his 1974 autobiography, \u201cCarrying the Fire.\u201d \u201cThis venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118632903625.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this June 19, 2019, file photo, astronaut Michael Collins attends the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. (Charles Krupa\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins was born in Rome on Halloween 1930. His parents were Virginia Collins and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James L. Collins. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952, a year behind Aldrin, Collins joined the Air Force, where he became a fighter pilot and test pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Glenn\u2019s 1962 flight making him the first American to orbit the Earth persuaded Collins to apply to NASA. He was accepted on his second try, in 1963, as part of the third group of astronauts selected. Collins\u2019 first mission was 1966\u2032s Gemini 10, one of the two-man missions made in preparation for flights to the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with John Young, Collins practiced maneuvers necessary for a moon landing and performed a spacewalk during the three-day mission. During the spacewalk, he famously lost a camera, which is frequently cited as one of the items of \u201cspace junk\u201d orbiting Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced that Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin would be on the crew of Apollo 11, the United States\u2019 first moon landing attempt. Of his fellow Apollo 11 astronauts, Collins said they were: \u201cSmart as hell, both of them, competent and experienced, each in his own way.\u201d Still, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/07\/13\/apollo-11s-amiable-strangers-armstrong-aldrin-collins\/\" target=_blank>Collins called the group \u201camiable strangers\u201d <\/a>because the trio never developed as intense a bond as other crews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of the three, Collins was the acknowledged jokester. Aldrin called him the \u201ceasygoing guy who brought levity into things.\u201d In summarizing Kennedy\u2019s famous challenge to go to the moon, for example, Collins later said: \u201cIt was beautiful in its simplicity. Do what? Moon. When? End of decade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/07\/17\/apollo-11-astronaut-returns-to-launch-pad-50-years-later\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19197546770838.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Apollo 11 astronaut returns to launch pad 50 years later<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins returned Tuesday to the exact spot where he flew to the moon 50 years ago with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Apollo 11 crew trained for just six months before launching on July 16, 1969, from Florida\u2019s Cape Canaveral. The mission insignia \u2014 an eagle landing on the moon with an olive branch in its talons \u2014 was largely Collins\u2019 creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins said one of the things that struck him most was the way the Earth looked from space \u2014 peaceful and serene but also delicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs I look back on Apollo 11, I more and more am attracted to my recollection, not of the moon, but of the Earth. Tiny, little Earth in its little black velvet background,\u201d Collins said while marking the mission\u2019s 50th anniversary in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In contrast, he said the moon seemed almost hostile. In fact, it was considered so hostile that on their return, Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin all spent several days in a quarantine trailer. They received visitors, including President Richard Nixon, staring through a window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21118613403989.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this July 24, 1969, file photo, President Richard Nixon greets the Apollo 11 astronauts in a quarantine van on board the USS Hornet after splashdown and recovery in the Pacific Ocean. From left are Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin &#8220;Buzz&#8221; Aldrin. (AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the group was finally deemed safe, they went on a world tour, visiting 25 countries in just over five weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins often remarked that he was surprised that everywhere they went people didn\u2019t say \u201cWell, you Americans finally did it.\u201d Instead, they said, \u201cWell, we finally did it,\u201d meaning \u201cwe\u201d humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early on, Collins said Apollo 11 would be his last mission, though officials at NASA wanted him to continue flying. Collins soon left NASA and joined the State Department as assistant secretary for public affairs. Though he enjoyed the people he later wrote that \u201clong hours in Washington flying a great mahogany desk\u201d didn\u2019t suit him.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/07\/13\/apollo-11s-amiable-strangers-armstrong-aldrin-collins\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"231\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ASTRO1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Apollo 11\u2032s \u2018amiable strangers\u2019 Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Apollo 11&#039;s astronauts had six months to gel as a crew and prepare for humanity&#039;s greatest space feat. The three had never served together on the same spaceflight before, and the busy preparation left little if any time for bonding.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After about a year he left and joined the Smithsonian Institution. There, he led a team responsible for planning and opening the Smithsonian\u2019s Air &amp; Space Museum, where the Apollo 11 capsule and artifacts now reside, including some of Collins\u2019 personal items from that mission \u2014 flight checklists, his toothbrush, razor and a tube of Old Spice shaving cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with his autobiography, Collins wrote a book on his experience for younger readers, \u201cFlying to the Moon: An Astronaut\u2019s Story.\u201d In a 1994 preface to the book, Collins urged more spending on space exploration and on a manned mission to Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am too old to fly to Mars, and I regret that. But I still think I have been very, very lucky,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI was born in the days of biplanes and Buck Rogers, learned to fly in the early jets, and hit my peak when moon rockets came along. That\u2019s hard to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Collins joined the Air Force after graduating from West Point in 1952.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":65595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,22,23,89,12,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[659],"class_list":["post-33758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UDPFMHPE2REOVP4HDPJ2X5JHQI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/04\/28\/astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 11 pilot, dies at 90 - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Collins joined the Air Force after graduating from West Point in 1952.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 11 pilot, dies at 90\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Collins joined the Air Force after graduating from West Point in 1952.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2021\/04\/28\/astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-28T19:42:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:02:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica Gresko, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Gresko, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/28\\\/astronaut-michael-collins-apollo-11-pilot-dies-at-90\\\/#article\",\n\t 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