American astronaut Michael Collins, a member of the Apollo 11 crew, dies of cancer in the 91st year of his life
His family said on Wednesday.
Collins, referred to as the Forgotten Astronaut, was a command module pilot that did not land on the surface of the celestial body in 1969, and orbit around the moon, waiting for his comrades, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, to complete it. Their historical expedition on the orb.
Its name has been preserved by a 2.4 km crater on the moon’s surface, and a mineral brought from the celestial body, hitherto unknown on Earth, armalcolite.
His family remembered Collins as a cheerful, wise, and loyal man, and despite his renewed age, he was the most active member of the Apollo veterans in recent years.
On June 19, 1969, in preparation for the lunar flight, American astronaut Michael Collins was photographed in Cape Kennedy, Florida, in a typical model of the US Apollo-11 spacecraft command unit.
Photo: MTI / AP
Mike always takes life’s challenges with dignity and humility, including this last one
They wrote.
The United States has lost a true astronaut, said Steve Goerchek, NASA director. The US Public Service Radio quoted the official as saying on its website that Collins was there when America took its first steps in outer space, and his spirit will accompany his grandchildren to new heights.
Collins was born on October 31, 1930 in Rome to a military family. His father was then an American military attaché in Italy. Collins graduated from West Point Military Academy and then became an Air Force pilot.
In the 1960s, he spent several hours in space as part of the Gemini program.
He completed his astronaut career in January 1970 to prove his versatility in public life. Under Richard Nixon, he for a time became the State Department’s chief press officer and then director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Aviation and Space. He later switched to working and writing.
Collins married Patricia May Finnegan in 1957 and had three children with her.
