Documentary director redefines astronaut Eileen Collins as the 'Spacewoman' (interview)

The dictionary defines “spacewoman” as simply “a woman astronaut.” In the case of its latest usage, though, the term carries more meaning.

“Spacewoman,” a new documentary from Haviland Digital and Tigerlily Productions, tells the story of Eileen Collins, the United States’ first female astronaut to pilot and command a space shuttle mission. The title seems obvious given its subject, but it was not something that Collins herself ever considered.

“The funny thing about it is, I would never have thought of it,” said Collins in an interview with collectSPACE.com. “At one point [during the making the film] I asked, ‘Did we come up with a title?’ and Hannah said, ‘Spacewoman.’ And it made me wonder why I don’t think of it.”

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