Mission Commander Eileen Collins speaks with journalists after she exited her T-38 aircraft at the Kennedy Space Center July 16 as she arrived with other crew members to prepare for the launch of the space shuttle Columbia. Collins is the first female commander of a space shuttle. Columbia is scheduled for launch on July 20, the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing in 1969. Astronauts are expected to deploy the Chandra X-Ray observatory on the five-day mission.

JLS/WS