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Three life lessons I learned from Command Module Pilot Michael Collins

On July 20, 1969, NASA astronaut Michael Collins ascended to humankind’s farthest physical frontier when he became the U.S. Astronaut to fly on the Apollo 11 mission in a voyage to the Moon. Here are the three life lessons I got from Mike.

By Reto BachofnerPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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S69–31742 (July 1969) — Astronaut Michael Collins. Original Source: https://images.nasa.gov/details-S69-31742.html / Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

As the Columbia Command Module pilot, he kept watching over Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin while they explored the lunar surface that day, the day we all know fondly as “the first man to walk on the moon.”

The softly plowed field saved the moon landing

Smoke filled his F-86 cockpit. First light-gray.

Not what he imagined on a beautiful day like this, flying over the fields and forests of France.

The smoke thickened.

It got worse from second to second. Charles E. Sexton, his wingman, came to have a look if he could see something suspicious.

“You are on fire! Get out. Get out”

By now, the smoke was so thick in Mike’s cockpit that he could not see his instruments. There was no way to wait any longer.

His situation would only get worse. Collins had to release his ejector seat to leave the aircraft.

Quickly.

The seat shot out along rails with the Pilot inside.

Later, he would recall that he had no sense of motion. He was fired up from his seat in the French skies from one moment to the next.

Collins got rid of the seatbelt and the seat. The parachute opened. In his horror, he noticed that the white-orange fabric a few meters above his head had tiny holes.

Mike’s skill and grace enable him to land almost undetected in a farmer’s softly plowed field.

To the Moon, from a small Irish town

A small town, Dunmanway, nestles in the green hills of West Cork in Ireland.

Lovely scenery, pretty cottages, perhaps like what you have in mind when you envision Ireland.

The people endured challenging times during that time. The Great Famine lasted from 1845–1852. More than one million people died. Over 1.5 million people left the country in search of a better life anywhere else.

Things improved in the following years. However, life was still hard, and many Irish decided to leave the Island. The same is true for Jeremiah Bernard Collins. In the mid-1860s, he immigrated to America.

It was a brave decision taken by a 16-year-old boy. In 1876 he moved to Algier, Louisiana, where he worked first as a tobacconist and then as a solicitor for grocery firms.

As a result, he entered the grocery business, in which he succeeded for the next 25 years.

Together, he founded a family of ten with Catherine. In the future, one of them, James Lawton Collins, would get up the ranks to become a general in the U.S. Army. James’ son Michael would become the Command Module Commander for the famous Apollo 11 Mission.

On October 31, 1930, Michael was born in Rome, Italy. As his father was assigned to a different mission in each country while he was a child, he grew up in other countries.

He first experienced flying in Puerto Rico. The Pilot let him pilot the Grumman Widgeon for a portion of the flight. He became fascinated by flying after that.

He joined the military, graduated in 1952, and joined the U.S. Air Force for flight training in T-6 Texan. It was part of his Irish DNA that he had little fear of failure.

In the F-86, he learned ground warfare and nuclear weapons delivery techniques.

But his biggest dream was to become an Astronaut. He was selected for the Gemini Mission after applying to NASA.

His life was fascinating, and he participated in the greatest adventure that humanity has ever experienced — the moon landing.

It’s time to discover the three key lessons that Micheal Collins has to offer.

Let’s dive in. What did Michael Collins teach me?

If my mission is accomplished, I don’t shoot for the Moon. I Look after my family instead

Mike quitted NASA in 1970 for his family. He was a devoted husband and father, and his wife Pat was one of the most strong and durable of all the astronaut wives.

NASA’s astronaut program is demanding, especially if you have a family. After Apollo 8 and Apollo 11, more time away from his Wife and his Kids wasn’t something it looked worth it. He knew he was scheduled to go to the Moon again. This time it was planned that he could walk on the Moon.

Collins considered that this was not something to shoot for as he was aware that continuous training for this mission and being away from his family again he didn’t want to do a third time.

There was another component too. Health. In handball games, he realized during 1968 that his legs were not working as they should. Later he discovered this when he walked downstairs. His left leg had an unusual sensation in cold or hot water, and his knee would almost give away.

An appointment by a doctor brought to daylight that he had a cervical disc herniation, requiring two vertebrae to be fused. He was undergoing surgery at Wilford Hall Hospital in Texas and spent three months in a neck brace.

That meant he was removed from the prime crew of Apollo 9.

Life Lesson from Michael Collins:

Don’t shoot for the Moon endlessly. Look for something easier to achieve if a goal is accomplished after an enormous investment of time and effort.

This will allow me to spend more time with my family.

It’s okay not to walk on the Moon. I’m happy to be part of the mission

“Put LUCKY on my tombstone.”

How many times did he have to answer if he regretted not going to the Moon?

The deepest part of him probably still desired for a long time to be on the Moon. Collins, however, felt a part of the mission very much. As someone who served in the military, he understood that many trains for assignments, but only a few get chosen. The application pool was massive, and only a few candidates were selected.

John F. Kennedy made a promise by sending the United States to the Moon.

The mission’s gist was as follows:

  • Land and walk to the Moon
  • Protect the Moonlander(s)
  • Travel back
  • Collins stood for the last two parts.

    In his autobiography, Michael Collins wrote:

    “This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two.”

    Collins served as a guardian angel for Armstrong and Aldrin.

    At one time, he was the most lonely man in the universe. And actually, he was the most important man in the universe.

    The ‘Return’ key was in his possession. Did he feel comfortable back then? Not likely. Collins, however, was a proud man and fulfilled this mentally demanding role in service to his country. Including the entire world. Except for one country.

    Life Lesson from Michael Collins:

    If I accomplished something in a Team, I do not need to be in the spotlight. Neither I don’t have to be the poster boy. I’m proud to fulfill my role 100%.

    Look at your mission from 100,000 miles away

    240'000 miles from home, Collins orbited the Moon alone inside the Columbia command module for 21 hours. Every two hours, he circled the Moon, losing contact with anyone when he passed beyond the lunar far side for 48 minutes each time.

    Did he feel lonely?

    “I was not lonely,” Mike answered.

    “I had a happy little home in the command module. Behind the Moon, it was very peaceful — no one in Mission Control is yakkin’ at me and wanting me to do this, that, and the other. So I was happy; it was a happy home.”

    One of his strongest memories was of looking back at Earth from that great distance. The advice he offered is beneficial, not just for your personal life but also for your career.

    It is vital for everyone, especially our so-called leaders, to take heed of Collins’s words.

    “I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their Planet from a distance of 100,000 miles, their outlook could be fundamentally changed.

    That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment.

    The Earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.”

    There isn’t more to say about it.

    In addition to what he said, Collins brought back one of the most iconic pictures from the Apollo 11 Mission.

    We can see the Eagle with Aldrin and Armstrong inside.

    There is the Earth. With the entire population of the Planet.

    The picture contains only one person not in the image.

    Original Source from NASA — https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/higher_res/apollo/as11_44_6642.jpg

    Please let this sink in.

    Life Lesson from Michael Collins:

    I see my Life’s Mission from a great distance. It makes me rethink how I solve problems, I will take on a challenging problem rather than leaving small ones to gather dust in my head, and I will avoid procrastination for the little things.

    The story began in a small town in Ireland

    Collins is often called the forgotten Astronaut. Many people think of Armstrong and Aldrin when asked about the three men from the Apollo 11 Mission.

    Nevertheless, Michael Collins will continue to live forever as a legend. He has a place in history books all the time. He was the one who brought Neil and Buzz safely back to Earth.

    Despite his many accomplishments and merits, he insisted on everyone calling him Mike.

    Michael Collins died at the age of 90 from cancer on April 28, 2021.

    This Story was submitted first on my Medium Blog

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