Space pioneer Eileen Collins has deep San Antonio ties

Driving the news: The film, originally released in 2024, is making limited theatrical stops across Texas, including San Antonio starting Friday.

• A Q&A session with Collins is sold out Saturday, but screenings continue at Santikos Embassy through Wednesday.

Flashback: Collins became NASA's first female pilot in 1995 and the first woman to command a space shuttle in 1999.

• She rose through the ranks at a time when women had only recently been allowed into the military flight pipeline.

Zoom in: San Antonio isn't just a tour stop, it's home base.

• "My first assignment in the Air Force was in 1978 out at Lackland Air Force Base, and so I just love the town," she tells Axios.
• Her husband, Pat Youngs, grew up in San Antonio near what is now the Alamodome.

Collins encourages girls in STEM to stick with challenging subjects, especially math, and not mistake a slower pace for inability.

• "A lot of young women, they feel like, 'Oh, I can't do math because the boys are learning faster than me.' Girls can do math. If you're falling behind, it's OK to repeat a course. It's OK to get extra help," she says.

Zoom out: The documentary aims to humanize a résumé filled with historic firsts, director Hannah Berryman tells Axios.

• Collins' memoir, "Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars," focused on the technical side of spaceflight.
• The film adds emotional depth by exploring her childhood, family and the people who shaped her path.

What they're saying: "I didn't want to just explore the woman who is the pilot and commander and make some kind of just achievement video. It needed to be a real [film] about what was that like at a time when women were often the person at home," Berryman says.