Plaque, Astronaut Wings

This plaque is a replica of the U.S. Air Force astronaut wings awarded to Col. Michael Collins. The Air Force awarded astronaut wings to all of its members who flew in space or above the altitude of 50 miles whether as astronauts or as pilots in aircraft. Col. Collins received his wings after completion of the Gemini 10 mission in July 1966 with fellow astronaut, John Young. During this mission, their capsule reached the then record-setting altitude of 475 miles and Col. Collins conducted a space walk. Col. Collins second and last trip in space was as the Command Module pilot on the historic Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, the first to land human beings on the Moon. Astronaut Alan Bean gave the plaque to the Museum in 1976.