RIP - Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut, dies aged 90

Michael Collins, who was part of the Apollo 11 original moon landing crew and kept the command module flying while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon, has died at the age of 90, his family said on Wednesday.

Collins had cancer. He was sometimes known as the “forgotten astronaut” because he didn’t get to land on the moon, while Armstrong and Aldrin became household names.

... some called him ‘the loneliest man in history’ – while his colleagues walked on the Moon for the first time, he helped our nation achieve a defining milestone. He also distinguished himself in the Gemini Program and as an Air Force pilot.”

The Guardian UK:
www.theguardian.com...

NASA statement:
www.nasa.gov...

A long and extraordinary life. May he now rest in peace amongst the stars!

I remember that night, so very clearly.

My grandmother, who came west in a covered wagon, and saw the Wright flyer fly over her house, lived to see the beginning of Mans dream of stars come to fruition.

Buzz Aldrin is the only one left.

These men were heroes of my childhood, so very few are left now.

Voyage to the stars, Micheal Collins.

a reply to: Encia22

Went to the Moon and lived to 90 , not bad.

I think the “forgotten astronaut” tag is unfair , anyone with an interest knows who he was and the part he played.
I wonder How many astronauts other than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin people could name.

RiP the man with the best seat in the house , Michael Collins.

a reply to: gortex

Best seat in the house...

Indeed!! Hadn't really looked at in that fashion.

I miss those days. When we believed anything and everything was not only possible, but likely.

a reply to: Encia22

Any secret memoirs to release!

a reply to: gortex

Yes, I think so too. Any mission of such magnitude is a team effort, yet the vast majority are unsung heroes.

Like Ken Mattingly who was key to getting the Apollo 13 crew back home. Ron Howard's movie (one of my favourite) can almost be seen as over dramatised, however, Ken really did what the film depicted.

www.eetimes.com...

a reply to: Encia22

For me, he was the one with the biggest balls between all 3 of them. He was alone waiting for his friends.

a reply to: Trueman

Absolutely! If anything had gone wrong when the lunar module had to return to the orbiter, I think he would have been doomed. I don't think he alone could have returned to earth, unless they had a contingency plan for such a scenario, but I'm no expert, so any corrections are welcomed.

Met him at a family reunion in the late 70's. He's a distant relative on my Father's side. He was very nice and patient with a star struck kid.

My Dad woke me up to watch the landing. It was right before my 4th birthday. My Dad made such a big deal about it that I still remember some of it.

If something had happened to the LM he would have had a long lonely ride home. Thank Gog for Government Skillcraft pens.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

That would be interesting, but who knows?

a reply to: JIMC5499

That's fantastic! That you still remember is even better!

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: Encia22

Went to the Moon and lived to 90 , not bad.

I think the “forgotten astronaut” tag is unfair, anyone with an interest knows who he was and the part he played.

-------RiP the man with the best seat in the house , Michael Collins.

"RiP the man with the best seat in the house", says it all...I think...R.I.P. the man!

a reply to: JIMC5499

I had just turned five.

I remember, distinctly, the expressions on the adults faces--and Walter Cronkites. Awestricken delight.

Imagine what they'd lived to see, especially our grand parents... The Dawn of Flight, to a man on another world. I remember Viking and Voyager in much the same way. Our first real look at the weird and wonderful Universe, up close.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: JIMC5499

I had just turned five................Our first real look at the weird and wonderful Universe, up close.

I was 22, instinctively, I said to myself, "And we ain't see anything yet"

RIP Michael Collins!

In elementary school, they had Carrying the Fire and I read that book every visit our class made. It made quite an impression upon me!! It was one, if not the first, non-fiction books that I read.

The humor, the drama, and the excitement countered the fact that he was, the most isolated man ever!

I think that a revisit to my childhood, and one of the brightest minds (MIT grad), is in order!

RIP. Thankfully he wasn't forced to lie and pretend about a moon landing that never happened......

a reply to: Stu112

A moon landing denier??

How special.

originally posted by: Stu112
RIP. Thankfully he wasn't forced to lie and pretend about a moon landing that never happened......

Big speak there,
So, you mean that he was in the command module orbiting the Moon, or what?

Great man, and a true national hero.

May he rest in peace.

ETA - It's interesting that Collins had no desire to return to the Moon after Apollo 11. He was offered to get in the pipeline for the command of Apollo 14, which would have let him walk on the Moon, but he declined. There's probably a message there, but I'm not sure what it is. Could just be an indicator of how truly perilous those missions really were. Going there and getting back alive one time was feat enough...why roll the dice and dance with the devil a second time?

a reply to: Stu112

Like you would actually believe if NASA was going to fake the landings that they would have faked going to the Moon at all? That would have been easily debunked on day #1.

That's a special kind of special!