Ilan Ramon
Ilan Ramon (June 20, 1954 - February 1, 2003) was an astronaut and space shuttle payload specialist of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.
He was the first astronaut on a NASA flight to request kosher food; because of space constraints, not all the food was certified kosher. Ramon, of Tel Aviv and Houston, started astronaut training with NASA in 1997 and was the first Israeli in space.
Air Force Career
Ramon was a Colonel and fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, with thousands of hours flying experience. He fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In 1980, he was in the first group of Israeli pilots to fly F-16s donated to Israel by the United States. In 1981, he took part in the bombing of Iraq's unfinished Osiraq nuclear reactor.
Family
Ramon's mother and grandmother survived imprisonment in Germany's Auschwitz death camp during the Holocaust of World War II.
After his death, Asteroid 51828 Ilanramon was named after this astronaut who is a national hero in Israel.
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Referenced By
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