Pioneer Woman Shuttle Commander leaves NASA

American astronaut Eileen Marie Collins, a veteran of four space shuttle missions is leaving the astronaut corps; the US space agency NASA announced Monday.

The pioneer female pilot and first woman commander of a Space Shuttle retired on May 1, 2006 to pursue private interests. Collins - former military instructor said she wanted to pursue other interests and spend more time with her family.

Born in Elmira, New York, Collins who commanded last year's mission to the International Space Station, the first shuttle flight since the Columbia tragedy in 2003, said "It's been a fantastic career. It's just time for me to move on with some new challenges."

Collins, 49, said that she has planned to pursue another career in aerospace after spending the summer with her husband, Pat Youngs, and their two children, a 10-year-old daughter Bridget and 5-year-old son Luke.

Agency's Administrator Michael Griffin said, "Eileen Collins is a living, breathing example of the best that our nation has to offer," He further added, "She is, of course, a brave, superb pilot and a magnificent crew commander. Beyond those qualities, she is both very bright and modestly self-effacing about that fact. And above all, she is possessed of a quiet determination to attain the very highest levels of accomplishment. I am proud to know her and will greatly miss her at NASA."

She first flew the Space Shuttle as pilot in 1995 aboard STS-63, which involved a rendezvous between Discovery and the Russian space station Mir. She was also the pilot for STS-84 in 1997.

In July 1999, she commanded the mission STS-93 (Shuttle- Columbia) which deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Collins last commanded STS-114-the "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission which launched Space Shuttle Discovery on July 26, 2005. It was the 14-day mission infested by a series of mishaps, the most serious being the loss of insulating foam from the shuttle's external fuel tank during launch.

During STS-114, Collins became the first astronaut to fly the space shuttle through a complete 360-degree pitch maneuver. Last year she said in an interview, "I can honestly say that in my job day to day, I'm not really aware that there's any difference between male and female crew members, it may be cool to the rest of the world that a woman is the commander of this flight. I think that's great."

About the astronaut, Mike Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston said, "Eileen is a true pioneer in space and on Earth, her service and dedication to her country, to NASA and to space exploration are an inspiration. She meets every challenge with confidence and an ever-present smile."