HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Cosmosphere joins the Nation and the World in grieving the loss of Astronaut Michael Collins, who died earlier Wednesday. A tribute to Collins has been created adjacent to the Gemini X capsule, in which Collins and John Young flew in 1966 and which is a part of the Cosmosphere collection.
In 2016, Collins and his daughters, Kate and Ann, visited the Cosmosphere to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Gemini X Mission. As part of his day at the Cosmosphere, Collins chose to spend an hour with young people making paper airplanes. He also met with a group of Scouts and with Cosmosphere campers back from a travel camp. At dinner that night, he and his daughters shared stories with the crowd of 150 gathered at the Cosmosphere.
“The unique thing about Mike's stories was that they focused on bigger ideas, or on other people and on the importance of things like self-expression and literacy,” Mimi Meredith, Cosmosphere Senior VP of Communication and Chief Development Officer said. “He seldom talked about himself or his achievements. We will remember the qualities he shared of humility, teamwork, courage, wisdom, tenacity, humor and an appreciation of beauty. He didn’t think Astronauts should be called heroes, but he is a hero to us.”
The Collins tribute will be left up through the coming week. Cosmosphere visitors are encouraged to sign a guest book and to share a memory or message for the Collins family.
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