Everything about Ilan Ramon totally explained
| place_death =Over
Texas
| previous_occupation =
Fighter pilot
| rank =
Colonel,
Israeli Air Force
| selection =
1996 NASA Group
| time =15d 22h 20m
| mission =
STS-107
| insignia =
|}}
Ilan Ramon (
June 20 1954 -
February 1 2003; ) was a fighter pilot in the
Israeli Air Force, and later the first
Israeli
astronaut. Ramon was the
space shuttle payload specialist of
STS-107, the fatal mission of
Columbia, where he and six other crew members were killed in a re-entry accident over
Texas. Ramon is a recipient of the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Personal life
Ramon was born in
Ramat Gan,
Israel and grew up in
Beersheba. His mother and grandmother are survivors of
Auschwitz concentration camp.
Although a
secular Jew, Ramon sought to follow Jewish observances while in orbit. In an interview he said, "I feel I'm representing all Jews and all Israelis". He was the first spaceflight participant to request
kosher food.
He also gathered rabbinic opinions from the local Chabad-Lubavitch representative Rabbi Zvi Konikov, about observing the Jewish Sabbath (
Shabbat) while in space, since the period between sunrises in orbit is approximately 90 minutes. This later became famous by the words "Jerusalem we've a problem" (said in Rabbi Konikov's speech at the Kennedy Space Center Memorial for Columbia on February 7, 2003).
Aboard STS-107, Ramon carried a pencil sketch, "Moon Landscape", drawn by 14-year-old
Petr Ginz, who died in Auschwitz. Ramon also took with him a
microfiche copy of the
Torah (from the Holocaust) given to him by Israeli president
Moshe Katsav. Ramon asked the 1939 Club, a
Holocaust survivor organization in Los Angeles, for a symbol of the Holocaust to take into outer space with him. A barbed wire
Mezuzah by San Francisco Artist Aimee Golant was selected. Ramon also took with him a dollar of the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.
Ramon and the rest of the
Columbia crew died over Texas in the
Southern United States during entry into Earth's atmosphere, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife Rona and their four children.
Education
Ramon graduated from high school in 1972. In 1987, he graduated with a B.Sc. in electronics and computer engineering from
Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
Air Force career
Ramon was a
Colonel (
Aluf Mishne) and
fighter pilot in the
Israeli Air Force, with thousands of hours
flying experience. In 1980, he was in the first group of Israeli pilots to fly the newly purchased
F-16s. In 1981, he took part in the bombing of
Iraq's unfinished
Osiraq nuclear reactor (
Operation Opera).
In 1974, Ramon graduated as a fighter pilot from the
Israel Air Force (IAF) Flight School. From 1974–1976 he participated in
A-4 Basic Training and Operations. 1976–1980 was spent in
Mirage III-C training and operations. In 1980, as one of the IAF’s establishment team of the first F-16 Squadron in Israel, he attended the F-16 Training Course at
Hill Air Force Base,
Utah. From 1981–1983, he served as the Deputy Squadron Commander B, F-16 Squadron. After attending the
University of Tel Aviv, he served as Deputy Squadron Commander A,
F-4 Phantom Squadron (1988–1990). During 1990, he attended the Squadron Commanders Course. From 1990–1992, he served as Squadron Commander, F-16 Squadron. From 1992–1994, he was Head of the Aircraft Branch in the Operations Requirement Department. In 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned as Head of the Department of Operational Requirement for Weapon Development and Acquisition. He stayed at this post until 1998.
Colonel Ramon accumulated over 3,000 flight hours on the A-4, Mirage III-C, and F-4, and over 1,000 flight hours on the F-16.
NASA experience
NASA on-ground trainings
In 1997, Colonel Ramon was selected as a
Payload Specialist. He was designated to train as prime for a space shuttle mission with a payload that included a
multispectral camera for recording desert
aerosol (dust). In July 1998, he reported for training at the
Johnson Space Center,
Houston, where he trained until 2003. He flew aboard
STS-107, logging 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space.
Space flight experience
STS-107
Columbia (
January 16–
February 1,
2003). The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly when Space Shuttle
Columbia was destroyed and its crew perished during re-entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing.
Awards and honors
- Military decorations:
- Posthumously awarded:
Commemoration
Asteroid 51828 Ilanramon
Ramon Hill, in Columbia Hills, Mars
Ramon Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments, Florida Institute of Technology
Ilan Ramon youth physics center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
Ramon Control Tower, Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel
Ilan Ramon Boulevard, Vaughan, Ontario
Ramon Park, Givat Shmuel, Israel
Ilan Ramon Park, space-themed playground in Beersheba, Israel
Ilan Ramon AZA #380 in Boulder, CO & Ilan Ramon BBYO #5378 in Oviedo, FLFurther Information
Get more info on 'Ilan Ramon'.
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