| About Israel's First Astronaut Ilan Ramon | |
Read about how the loss of Ilan Ramon has affected
the people of Israel. |
Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israel Air Force and Israel's first astronaut, was a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Personal Data
Born:
June 20,1954 in Tel Aviv, Israel
Died: February 1, 2003 aboard the Space Shuttle
Columbia over Texas
Family: Married to Rona. Four children.
Parents: Mother
Tonya Wolferman survived Auschwitz. His parents reside in Beer Sheva, Israel.
Hobbies: Skiing, Squash.
Education
High
School: Graduated in 1972
University: Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics
and Computer Engineering from the University of Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1987
Honors/Awards
Yom Kippur War (1973)
Operation Peace for Galilee (1982)
F-16 1,000 Flight
Hours (1992).
Flight Experience
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. From 1983-1987, he attended the University of Tel Aviv. From 1988-1990, he served as Deputy Squadron Commander A, F-4 Phantom Squadron. 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
In 1997, Colonel Ramon was selected as a Payload Specialist. He trained as prime for a Space Shuttle mission with a payload that includes a multispectral camera for recording desert aerosol. In July 1998, he reported for training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston. He served as Payload Specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, which launched on January 16, 2003 and exploded on its descent over Texas on February 1, 2003.
Memorable Quotes
"I know my flight is very symbolic for the people of Israel, especially the survivors, the Holocaust survivors, because I was born in Israel, many people will see this as a dream that is come true."
"I
was born in Israel and I'm kind of the proof for my parents and their generation
that whatever we've been fighting for in the last century is becoming true."
~
Lisa Katz
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