Documentary Filmmaker Reimagines Astronaut Eileen Collins as ‘Cosmonaut’ (Interview)

In the dictionary, “cosmonaut” simply means “female astronaut”. However, in its latter use, the term has more meaning.

“Spaceship”, a new documentary film from Haviland Digital and Tigerlily Productions, tells the story of Eileen Collins, the first female United States astronaut to pilot and command space shuttle mission. The title seems obvious given its subject matter, but Collins herself didn’t think of it that way.

“The funny thing is, I would never have thought of that,” Collins told collectSPACE.com. “At one point (during the making of the film) I asked, ‘Have we come up with a title?’ and Hannah said:cosmonaut.’ And it made me wonder why I don’t think about it.”

a woman in an orange flight suit stands on the street with a word — Main image for the new documentary Space Woman, featuring a portrait of astronaut Eileen Collins by Annie Leibovitz. (Image credit: Spacewoman Film)

For her part, director Hannah Berryman says the producers came up with the title, but it’s a perfect fit.

“He’s just stuck,” she said. “It was very important to me that it (conveyed) not only that Eileen was a woman who went into space, but that she was a pilot and a commander.”

For Collins, it was also about reaching a wider audience.

“I think it will appeal to a younger audience, and I really want high school and college age people, men and women, to see the movie because I think it will help them decide to be part of the space program someday, or that they could work in the space industry,” Collins said. “I like that it’s simple, descriptive and engaging. That’s why I’m happy with him.”

three women and a man are standing in a well-lit kitchen

Former astronaut Eileen Collins (left), her daughter Bridget Youngs, “Spaceman” director Hannah Berryman and Pat Youngs, Collins’ husband. (Image credit: Hannah Berryman via Instagram)

collectSPACE spoke with Collins and Berryman ahead of the world premiere of “cosmonaut” as part of the annual Doc NYC Film Festival in New York City on Saturday (November 16). In addition to two in-person screenings with the star and director, movie tickets are available online from Sunday (November 17) to December 1.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

collectSPACE (cS): The documentary is based in part on your autobiography, co-written with Jonathan Ward, “Through the glass ceiling to the stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission,” published in 2021. Where did the idea to make a movie about this book come from?

Eileen Collins: Kate Haviland (of Haviland Digital). He made a lot of space movies. He created “Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo” and “The last man on the moonHe has also made documentaries about aviation, including Lancaster: Above and Beyond and Spitfire.

He contacted my co-author Jonathan Ward the same month the book came out. We were interested, but we were busy promoting the book, so it was a year before we started talking about making a movie.

cS: Hannah, with the book Eileen, how did you come to the approach you took for the film?

Hannah Berryman: In my films, I am interested in exploring the emotional aspect of how we live and what we do. So I immediately knew that Eileen’s family story—her journey through that, from the moment she became a woman going into space with her family—I knew that was going to be central to the film. I can also say that her last mission (STS-114, NASA’s return to flight after loss of space shuttle “Columbia”.) was so pivotal and so much was at stake.

So I thought the two stories would collide in that final mission. We would hear how things went emotionally and physically during the mission.

cS: Where did you get the archival footage and photos used in the film?

Berryman: We had an archival researcher in the US who specializes in NASA, but we also had a great resource in Eileen and went through all of her archives on VHS and then DVD. Particularly important were her home videos, which I felt were invaluable in telling her personal story, the backdrop for all her public shots.

Eileen also reviewed mission highlights from each of her flights, including footage captured by her and her crew members.

So I don’t think we could have really made the film without the mix of footage that we had and that’s what we used.

a woman in a green sweater reads the instructions on board the space shuttle

Astronaut Eileen Collins reviews a checklist at the commander’s station in the flight deck of Space Shuttle Columbia. (Image credit: NASA)

cS: “Superwoman” includes footage of video calls you, Eileen, had with your family while in space. Is this the first time you’ve shared these appeals with the public?

Collins: This is private data, NASA never discloses it. They are called family conferences. We only got them on flights when the mission lasted a certain number of days. My daughter was only three and a half at the time.

So I had family conference tapes from my third space flight, STS-93, as well as from 114. Hannah asked me for them repeatedly. “We really want it. We really want it.” So I dug them out of a box somewhere in the corner. It took me a while to find them.

cS: Astronauts Michael Fowle, Cady Coleman, and Charlie Camarda appear in “Space Woman,” each of whom flew with Eileen. Was there an attempt to contact other crew members?

Berryman: I don’t do many, many interviews in the films I make, because I want you to get to know the people you see on the screen, who play a supporting role. So I really only wanted to talk to one person from each of Eileen’s four missions and Mike Fowle, flying STS-63 and 84, covered the first two.

It was good to have another female colleague with Cady, and she was on Eileen’s first team mission. And then when we were thinking about who to take with STS-114, and Charlie thought it was the person that Eileen spoke well of. He was open and a good talker—you could listen to him and be involved, like Mike and Cady.

That’s why we didn’t go any further. We did not interview anyone else from those missions. We had members of flight control with Wayne Gale and Paul Dye, and we had Marsha Dunn covering Eileen’s flights as a journalist.

Collins: I might add that I contacted my mission commanders; Jim Weatherby was 63rd and Charlie Precourt was 84th. So they both knew a movie was being made.

cS: Eileen, your son and daughter, and your husband are also interviewed. Is this the first time your kids are sharing their memories on camera?

Collins: For my son, yes. He was four years old when I flew my last mission, so Luke is his name, Luke Youngs – he didn’t remember that time well.

As for Bridget, it is difficult to do an interview for the first time. It’s hard to be on camera. I told her I thought she did a really good job and was authentic, which is important.

cS: The theme of fear comes up several times throughout the documentary. Eileen, why do you think it’s hard for the public to understand how you could not feel fear during launch or return from space?

Collins: I tell people that fear is normal, it’s human, and everyone has it. You overcome it by learning all about what you fear.

I learned about the space shuttle technically, and I also got to know the people who worked on the shuttle, everyone from the technicians who had a hand in the equipment to the engineers. I think it was also very important for me as a manager to instill confidence not only in my team but also in my family.

For example, after Colombia accident, I was fully involved in everything that was going on with the return flight issues as well as the accident investigation. Staying fully involved in it is what gave me the confidence and commitment to say, yes, it’s safe. Now it’s time to go.

If I was afraid, I would say: no, we are not ready yet. Let’s solve this problem that is bothering me. And I wouldn’t have left if they hadn’t answered any issues I had.

Berryman: Here’s the amazing thing about Eileen that I hope comes across in the movie: She’s learned that even as a child, you can’t control everything. So you worry about the things you can control and the rest, you just have to keep going. That’s what was amazing about the presence of Eileen’s spirit.

Eileen was a big part of the new step for women. And for someone like her, from her background, to overcome what she did, and her whole family went through it in such an amazing way, I hope people walk away from Space Woman inspired.

Collins: Cosmonauts are people. We are ordinary people. We have families. We have problems in our lives that are similar to those of other people. I think the way Hannah came out in the movie shows that we know we’re not just robots. We are not perfect specimens. You know, there’s a human side to us, and I think that’s what you feel when you watch the movie.