ECONOMIC BRIEFS
SEVEN ASTRONAUTS KILLED IN SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTER
The seven astronauts onboard Space shuttle Columbia - Col. Rick Husband, Commander William McCool, Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Capt., Dave Brown, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, Dr. Laurel Clark, and the first Israeli astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon - were killed on Saturday after the shuttle desintegrated in flames 200,000 feet over Texas, minutes before it was scheduled to land in Florida, HA'ARETZ reported. The shuttle was 16 minutes from landing when it broke apart. The crew had been expected to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:16 A.M but at approximately 9 A.M, Mission Control abruptly lost all data and voice contact with the shuttle and crew. At the same time, residents of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana reported hearing "a big bang" and seeing flames in the sky. "Columbia is lost; there are no survivors," President George W. Bush announced.
NASA appointed a panel on Sunday to investigate the Columbia tragedy, and said a more detailed analysis of the mission's final minutes had focused on a sharp buildup of heat on the left side of the craft shortly before it disintegrated. "We are gaining confidence that it was a thermal problem," Ron Dittemore, the shuttle's program manager, said. "It is too early for me to speculate on what all that means," he added. "I don't have any smoking gun."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush exchanged condolences over the telephone. A spokesperson for Bush said, "The president said he knows that aboard the shuttle was a brave Israeli, Colonel Ilan Ramon, and asked that the Ramon family receive the condolences of the entire American people as well as his personal condolences. He also expressed solidarity with them at this difficult time in their lives."
Addressing the cabinet on Sunday, Sharon said: "On behalf of the government and people of Israel, I would like to send our sincerest condolences to the families of the American astronauts, to US President George W. Bush, and to the American people. It is at times like these that we feel our common fate, identity and values, and shared vision, which we realized during Col. Ilan Ramon's journey into space."
"The seven astronauts who perished yesterday in the space shuttle Columbia disaster are part of the heavy price that the human race must pay in its quest for knowledge and in its desire to explore other worlds. Their deaths will not be in vain. Mankind's journey into space will continue. US-Israeli cooperation in this endeavor will continue as well. The day will come when other Israeli astronauts will be launched into space. I am certain that the memory of Ilan Ramon, Israel's first space pioneer, will be etched in our hearts."
US Ambassador to Israel Daniel C. Kurtzer was also present at the cabinet meeting on Sunday. "Our two nations shared joy and admiration for the heroism and bravery of the crew. We shared hopes and dreams of the advances that this mission promised for the betterment of humankind", Kurtzer said. "In paying tribute to these heroes, our two nations can draw on deep reservoirs of courage, character and fortitude. As we share triumphs, we also share misfortune."
In an unusual move, NASA agreed on Sunday to allow an Israeli expert to participate in the examination and identification process with regard to the body parts found over the past two days in the area in which the Columbia space shuttle crashed to earth. The Israel Defense Forces' attache to the United States, Major General Moshe Ivri-Sukenik, noted that he had stressed to the NASA representatives the significance Israel and the Jewish religion placed on the identification of the body parts of astronaut Ilan Ramon and his burial in Israel. He explained Israel's wish to play an active role in the search and identification operation.
ILAN RAMON - PORTRAIT OF AN ISRAELI HERO
Ilan Ramon, born June 20, 1954, in Tel Aviv was married to Rona, and the two have four children. Ramon graduated from high school in 1972 and began his military service and later attended flight-training school. Long before he received his college degree at 33, he distinguished himself in combat. He participated in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and in 1974, Ramon graduated as a fighter pilot from IAF Flight School. From 1974-1976 he participated in A-4 Basic Training and Operations and from 1976-1980 he was in Mirage III-C training and operations programs.
In 1980, as part of IAF efforts to establish the first F-16 squadron in Israel, Ramon attended the F-16 Training Course at Hill Air Force Base, Utah and served served as the Deputy Squadron Commander B, F-16 Squadron. In 1981, Ramon was one of eight Israeli F-16 pilots who obliterated the French-built Osiraq reactor near Baghdad in a lightning raid that shocked the world. The next year he flew missions over Lebanon as part of Operation Peace for Galilee. From 1983-1987, he attended Tel Aviv University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics and computer engineering. From 1988-1990, he was Deputy Squadron Commander A, F-4 Phantom Squadron and during 1990, he attended the Squadron Commanders Course. From 1990-1992, he served as Squadron Commander, F-16 Squadron and had recorded a total of 1,000 flight hours in his F-16 by 1992. He accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours on the A-4, Mirage III-C, and F-4.
Ramon received the rank of colonel in 1994 and took over control of the air force's weapon development and acquisition department. In 1997, he was selected to be Israel's first astronaut, and began training at NASA a year later. He was promised a launch as early as 1999, but for several reasons, his flight - and the flight of an atmospheric dust-measuring experiment sponsored by Israel - was delayed. For Columbia Space Shuttle Mission STS-107, Ramon, as a member of the Red Team, was the prime crewmember for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), a multispectral camera that measured small dust particles (dust aerosols) in the atmosphere over the Mediterranean and the Saharan coast of the Atlantic. He worked with the following experiments: European Space Agency Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System (ARMS); Astroculture (AST-1 and 2); Biological Research in Canister - Development of Gravity Sensitive Plant Cells in Microgravity (BRIC); Combustion Module (CM-2), which included the Laminar Soot Processes (LSP), Water Mist Fire Suppression (MIST) and Structures of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-number (SOFBALL) experiments; the Microbial Physiology Flight Experiments Team (MPFE) experiments, which included the Effects of Microgravity on Microbial Physiology and Spaceflight Effects on Fungal Growth, Metabolism and Sensitivity to Anti-fungal Drugs; the Physiology and Biochemistry Team (PhAB4) suite of experiments, which included Calcium Kinetics, Latent Virus Shedding, Protein Turnover and Renal Stone Risk; and Space Technology and Research Students Bootes (STARS Bootes).
The son of an Auschwitz death camp survivor, Ramon planned a tribute to those who endured the Holocaust during his space flight - he carried up a small pencil drawing titled "Moon Landscape" by Peter Ginz, a 14-year-old Jewish boy who was killed at Auschwitz. He also packed a credit-card sized microfiche of the Bible given to him by President Moshe Katsav and some mezuzot - cases containing excerpts from the Bible that are affixed to the door in Jewish houses.
The Israel Defense Forces created a special e-mail address where the public may express its condolences to the Ramon family and to the people of the State of Israel on the loss of Col. Ilan Ramon in the Columbia space shuttle tragedy.
The e-mail address is ilanfamily@mail.idf.il.
OTHER CREW MEMBERS' PROFILES
Rick Husband, 45, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a test pilot and veteran of one space flight. He served as commander on Columbia Space Shuttle Mission STS-107. Husband received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980 and a master of science in mechanical engineering from California State University-Fresno in 1990. As commander, Husband was responsible for the overall conduct of the mission. During the mission, he maneuvered Columbia as part of several experiments in the shuttle's payload bay that focused on the Earth and the Sun. Selected by NASA in December 1994, Husband served as the pilot of STS-96 in 1999 - a 10-day mission during which the crew performed the first docking with the International Space Station. Prior to STS-107, Husband had logged more than 235 hours in space.
William C. McCool, 41, a commander in the U.S. Navy, was a former test pilot. He served as pilot for STS-107. He received a bachelor of science in applied science from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983, a master of science in computer science from the University of Maryland in 1985, and a master of science in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1992. Selected by NASA in April 1996, McCool was making his first space flight.
Michael P. Anderson, 43, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a former instructor pilot and tactical officer, and a veteran of one space flight. He served as Payload Commander and Mission Specialist 3 for STS-107. As payload commander he was responsible for the success (management) of the science mission aboard STS-107. Anderson received a bachelor of science in physics/astronomy from University of Washington in 1981 and a master of science in physics from Creighton University in 1990. Selected by NASA in December 1994, Anderson flew on STS-89 in 1998 - the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission. Prior to STS-107, Anderson logged over 211 hours in space.
David M. Brown, 46, a captain in the U.S. Navy, was a naval aviator and flight surgeon. He served as Mission Specialist 1 for STS-107. Brown received a bachelor of science in biology from the College of William and Mary in 1978 and a doctorate in medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1982. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Brown was making his first space flight.
Kalpana Chawla, 41, was an aerospace engineer and an FAA Certified Flight Instructor. Chawla served as Flight Engineer and Mission Specialist 2 for STS-107. She received a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, in 1982, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington in 1984, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1988. Selected by NASA in December 1994, Chawla was the prime robotic arm operator on STS-87 in 1997, the fourth U.S. Microgravity Payload flight. STS-87 focused on how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes. Prior to STS-107, Chawla logged more than 376 hours in space.
Laurel Clark, 41, a commander (captain-select) in the U.S. Navy and a naval flight surgeon, was Mission Specialist 4 on STS-107. Clark received a bachelor of science in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 and a doctorate in medicine from the same school in 1987. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Clark was making her first space flight.
RONA RAMON: ILAN WILL STAY AN ANGEL
Talking to Israeli reporters on Sunday, Rona Ramon, the widow of Ilan Ramon, said that her husband was at his peak when he died, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported:
"He was happy in space, with the people he loved, in the place he loved. Sixteen days he floated in a dream. He didn't only dream - he made his dream come true. Ilan was the best of the best, and it is not a coincidence that he was chosen to become the first Israeli astronaut."
"He was a happy and an optimistic person. When he left for space, he left us this wonderful feeling that we are also part of this amazing thing. He had to write a will but at the end didn't because he thought it was unnecessary. He always had a smile and he wanted us to keep on smiling. We are not falling apart. We are strong for Ilan's sake. We will keep his spiritual will alive and he would want us to be happy, calm and smiling."
Ramon, wearing a shirt with the NASA symbol and accompanied by her sister from Israel, said that she was not afraid during the days her husband was in space:
"I knew that if the launching went well, there would be nothing to worry about because usually the malfunctions are during the launch and not during the landing. The only thing that tears me apart now is that during the liftoff, when we were all in high spirits, my youngest daughter, Noa, looked at the sky and said, 'I lost my daddy.' She felt what we didn't allow ourselves to think about, as if she knew this was the last time."
"We stood and waited at the end of runway for the landing. It was a beautiful day and the clock was ticking. When it got down to 10 seconds, we started a countdown, just like in the liftoff, to hear the sonic booms. But they didn't come. We started to worry, and then they took us to the side and told us that they didn't know what had happened, but we already knew. I didn't even have to tell the kids, they knew immediately."
Ramon explained that when they returned to their home there were several e-mails from Ilan awaiting them:
"Ilan sent the e-mails in the last minutes before the landing. One of them was a thank-you letter to Shimon Peres for helping him fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut. Peres and President Clinton started the project of sending an Israeli to space. The rest were personal letters to the family. He wanted us to read them together."
"We and the families of the other astronauts are a one big supporting family. We are bound in a magnificent way. The other crewmembers were close friends of Ilan's. The only thing that gives me any comfort is that they had such a good time [in space] and loved one another. They were simply a group of angels and that's how they will stay."
"I know that Ilan would want the space program to continue and I also support it. It's a great mission for humanity and despite the tragedy it should go on."
Family members and close friends, including Ilan's father and brother, arrived on Sunday in Houston to be with Rona and her four children. A team headed by Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon is also in Houston to help and give support to the family. The family, as well as official Israeli representatives, is slated to attend NASA's official memorial service for the seven astronauts killed aboard the Columbia on Tuesday.
NEWS BRIEFS