Editing Michael Collins (astronaut) (section)

===Director of the National Air and Space Museum===
<!--The new position was as director of the [[National Air and Space Museum]].<ref name="nasmod" />-->
On August 12, 1946, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed an [[authorization bill]] for a [[National Air Museum]], to be administered by the [[Smithsonian Institution]], and located on the [[National Mall]] in Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Harwit|1996|p=14}} Under the U.S. legislative system, authorization is insufficient; Congress also has to pass an [[appropriation bill]] allocating funding. Since this was not done, there was no money for the museum building.{{sfn|Harwit|1996|p=15}}

[[File:National Air and Space Museum Entrance.JPG|thumb|right|alt=Patrons mill around hall with SpaceShip One, the Spirit of Saint Louis, and the Apollo 11 command module|The Milestones of Flight Hall of the [[National Air and Space Museum]] in Washington, D.C.]]
The 1957 [[Sputnik crisis]] and the resulting [[Space Race]] led to a surge of public interest in space exploration. The ''[[Freedom 7]]'' and ''[[Friendship 7]]'' [[Project Mercury]] spacecraft were donated to the Smithsonian, and 2,670,000 visitors descended on the [[Arts and Industries Building]] when they were put on display in 1963. The museum was renamed the National Air and Space Museum in 1966, but there was still no funding to build it.{{sfn|Roland|1993|p=84}} Apollo 11 created another surge of interest in space. An exhibition of a [[Moon rock]] attracted 200,000 visitors in one month.{{sfn|Roland|1993|p=85}} On May 19, 1970, Senator [[Barry Goldwater]], a retired USAF major general, gave an impassioned speech in the Senate for funding of a museum building.{{sfn|Roland|1993|pp=86–87}}

The job had a clearly defined and tangible goal: to obtain congressional funding, and to build the museum.{{sfn|Lee|2007|p=188}} Collins lobbied hard for the new museum. With the help of Goldwater in particular, Congress relented, and on August 10, 1972, approved $13&nbsp;million and contract authority of $27&nbsp;million for its construction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1R89354591IU1.2241&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!926~!41&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=National+air+and+space+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |title=NASM Construction Appropriation Approved |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221090523/https://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1R89354591IU1.2241&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!926~!41&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=National+air+and+space+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The $40&nbsp;million budget was lower than he had hoped for, and the building had to be scaled back and some economies made.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/06/a-popular-smithsonian-museum-is-falling-apart-weve.html |title=The National Air and Space Museum is falling apart. We've got the details on the $365M fix |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |first=Michael |last=Neibauer |date=June 30, 2015 |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826083156/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/06/a-popular-smithsonian-museum-is-falling-apart-weve.html |archive-date=August 26, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition to cost pressure, there was also severe time pressure, as the museum was scheduled to open on July 4, 1976, as part of celebrations of the upcoming [[United States Bicentennial]]. The design by architect [[Gyo Obata]] of the [[St. Louis]] firm [[HOK (firm)|Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum]] aimed to harmonize the new museum with the other ones on the National Mall, so the exteriors were faced with [[Tennessee marble]] to match the façade of the National Gallery of Art.<ref name="Torch">{{cite magazine |url=https://siarchives.si.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/torch/Torch%201976/SIA_000371_1976_07_V2.pdf |magazine=The Smithsonian Torch |date=July 1976 |title=NASM Set to Launch July 1 |first=Linda |last=St. Thomas |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412120911/https://siarchives.si.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/torch/Torch%201976/SIA_000371_1976_07_V2.pdf |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gilbane Building Company]] was awarded the construction contract. Everything was fast-tracked. Contracts were awarded as soon as each component of the design was complete. This allowed the first contract to be awarded within five months of the start of design. The design was completed in just nine months, and all contracts were awarded within a year of the start of design.<ref name="Gilbane">{{cite web |url=https://www.gilbaneco.com/project/national-air-space-museum-2/ |title=National Air and Space Museum |work=Gilbane |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090631/https://www.gilbaneco.com/project/national-air-space-museum-2/ |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:8727-National-Air-and-Space-Museum (27234244521).jpg|thumb|left|alt=see caption|''[[Command module Columbia|Columbia]]'' at the National Air and Space Museum]]
Ground was broken on the new museum on November 20, 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1R89354591IU1.2241&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!927~!42&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=National+air+and+space+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |title=Ground is Broken for NASM |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221090613/https://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1R89354591IU1.2241&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!927~!42&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=National+air+and+space+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The building was built horizontally rather than vertically, as is the norm, so that work on the interiors could proceed concurrently.<ref name="Gilbane" /> Overseeing construction was but a part of Collins' task: he also had to hire museum staff, oversee the creation of exhibits, and launch the museum's [[Center for Earth and Planetary Studies]], a new division devoted to research and analysis of lunar and planetary spacecraft data.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/history-0 |title=History |publisher=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=January 19, 2019 |date=June 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121459/https://airandspace.si.edu/history-0 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Collins described the project as "a monumental effort" in which "individual creativity combined with dedicated teamwork and plain hard work".<ref name="Torch" />

The museum was completed on budget, and opened three days ahead of schedule on July 1, 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/about/history/museum-dc |title=Museum in DC |publisher=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706141805/https://airandspace.si.edu/about/history/museum-dc |archive-date=July 6, 2016 |url-status=live |date=May 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uODBHH9E90| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/1uODBHH9E90| archive-date=November 14, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Michael Collins Reflects on the Building of the Museum|via=YouTube|work=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum|date=July 12, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> President [[Gerald Ford]] presided over the formal opening ceremony.<ref name="Torch" /> Over one million visitors passed through its doors in the first month, and it quickly established itself as one of the world's most popular museums, averaging between eight and nine million visitors per annum over the next two decades. Visitors entering saw ''Columbia'' in the Milestones of Flight Hall, along with the ''[[Wright Flyer]]'', the ''[[Spirit of St. Louis]]'' and ''[[Glamorous Glennis]]''.{{sfn|Harwit|1996|pp=20–21}}

Collins held the directorship until 1978,<ref name="nasmod">{{cite web |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/research/ah00115nasmod.html |title=National Air and Space Museum, Office of the Director – Agency History |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |date=August 29, 2002 |access-date=April 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208003720/http://siarchives.si.edu/research/ah00115nasmod.html |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> when he stepped down to become undersecretary of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name="goldmedal">''Congressional Gold Medal to Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins''. {{USCongRec|2000|H4714|date=June 20, 2000}}. Retrieved April 16, 2015.</ref> During this time, although no longer an active-duty USAF officer after he joined the State Department in 1970, he remained in the [[U.S. Air Force Reserve]]. He attained the rank of major general in 1976, and retired in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afspc.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/252469/more-than-an-astronaut-an-american-airman/ |title=More than an astronaut; an American Airman |first=Jessica |last=Hines |date=August 3, 2010 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041449/https://www.afspc.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/252469/more-than-an-astronaut-an-american-airman/ |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>