HOUSTON — The family of Michael Collins confirmed Wednesday morning the Apollo 11 astronaut had passed away. He was 90 years old.
Collins, the command pilot on Apollo 11, orbited the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the lunar surface.
The Collins family posted this statement on Twitter:
Family Statement on Passing of Astronaut Michael Collins
"We regret to share that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today, after a valiant battle with cancer. He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side. Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way. We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. We will honor his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life. Please join us in fondly and joyfully remembering his sharp wit, his quiet sense of purpose, and his wise perspective, gained both from looking back at Earth from the vantage of space and gazing across calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat.
Our family asks for privacy during this difficult time. Details on services will be forthcoming."
Test pilot beginnings
Collins was born in Rome, Italy. NASA said he graduated from St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. and later from West Point. The Apollo 11 pilot got his start in the American government as a fighter pilot and a test pilot.
He was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1963 and served as the pilot for Gemini X and as the command module pilot for the famed Apollo 11 mission, when the first man stepped on the moon.
After retiring from NASA in 1970, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and became the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum, serving there from 1971 to 1978.
Collins also wrote multiple books including, "Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places." He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and also earned the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings and the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.