Ilan Ramon - Wikipedia

Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that June 20 is the anniversary of the birth of Israeli fighter pilot and later the first and only Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.
Image: Ilan Ramon (1954-2003), the first Israeli astronaut

Col. Ilan Ramon's last TV interview - Jewish Sparks TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JsyVquNbNY

Background from spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-107/memorial/ramon.html
"When Israel Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon was asked what it was like to be selected as the first Israeli astronaut, he said that he feels like he is a representative of his home country.
"… I think it's very, very peculiar to be the first Israeli up in space," he said. "Especially because of my background. But my background is kind of a symbol of a lot of other Israelis' background. My mother is a Holocaust survivor. She was in Auschwitz. My father fought for the independence of Israel not so long ago. I was born in Israel and I'm kind of the proof for them, and for the whole Israeli people, that whatever we fought for and we've been going through in the last century -- or maybe in the last two thousand years -- is becoming true.

"And I was talking to a lot of, for instance, Holocaust survivors. And when you talk to these people who are pretty old today, and you tell them that you're going to be in space as an Israeli astronaut, they look at you as a dream that they could have never dreamed of. So, it's very exciting for me to be able to fulfill their dream that they wouldn't dare to dream. So, it is very exciting. Very exciting."

Ramon was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in June 1954. He graduated from high school in 1972. He then joined the Israel Air Force. He fought in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and graduated as a fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force Flight School in 1974.

Over the next nine years, he gained experience in flying the A-4, F-16 and Mirage III-C aircraft, which included time training at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Then, he attended the University of Tel Aviv from 1983 to 1987, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering.

He then returned to flying for the air force. Ramon compiled more than 4,000 flight hours in Israeli military aircraft.

In 1997 he was selected to be an astronaut, and he reported to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in 1998. He said that he and most Israelis never dreamed of becoming astronauts.

"Well, when I was a kid," Ramon said, "… most of the people wouldn't dream of being an astronaut because it wasn't on the agenda. So I never thought I would've been an astronaut. I'm a pilot, a fighter pilot, in my background. And I love to fly! Flying aircrafts, fighter aircraft, is great. And I was very happy. I've never dreamed to be an astronaut. When I was selected, I really jumped almost to space."

Ramon trained until he made his first space flight in January 2003. He served as a payload specialist during STS-107 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. The STS-107 crew conducted more than 80 experiments during the scientific research mission.

While in orbit, he talked about the view of planet Earth and the need to take care of it. "The world looks marvelous from up here, so peaceful, so wonderful and so fragile," Ramon said. "The atmosphere is so thin and fragile, and I think all of us have to keep it clean and good. It saves our life and gives our life."

Ramon and his six crewmates perished on Feb. 1, 2003, over Texas as Columbia was re-entering Earth's atmosphere en-route to landing in Florida. Ramon spent 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space.

According to Astronaut Office Chief Kent Rominger, Ramon was a caring person and enjoyed his time in space and working with his crewmates. "He was also extremely caring," Rominger said. "From orbit, he sent an e-mail encouraging management, me and the other folks to immediately reassign this crew; that he could not imagine being part of or flying with any crew that was more deserving, more talented and more capable."

Ramon is survived by his wife and four children. Outside of his astronaut career, Ramon enjoyed snow skiing. And during a preflight interview, he said seeing the births of his children were among the most exciting moments in his life.

"Another very exciting and peculiar experience was to participate or take part, a small part, in all my four [children's] births," Ramon said. "I was supporting my wife during the births of all my four kids. And this is amazing to see a child born. This is the kind of exciting experience that I was in."

President George W. Bush spoke about Ramon's life and wish for peace during a memorial service on Feb. 4, 2003, at Johnson Space Center. "Ilan Ramon also flew above his home, the land of Israel," Bush said. "He said the quiet that envelops space makes the beauty even more powerful and 'I only hope that the quiet can one day spread to my country.'"

"Ilan was a patriot, the devoted son of a Holocaust survivor, served his country in two wars. Ilan," said his wife Rona, "left us at his peak moment, in his favorite place with people he loved."

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord SPC Margaret Higgins

Thank you for bringing this to our attention Maj Marty Hogan!!! Being an astronaut is still a risky business, given that one is riding on a guided missile, which could have a malfunction at any time either in mission, take off, or re-entry and in his case it was a disastrous Re-entry scenario. Very sad, but He did what He wanted to do in life and He will be missed by all of us...

Excellent history share sir.