First Israeli Astronaut Recalled as ‘Humble, Gifted Pilot’

By Bob Granath

On Jan. 26, 2023, NASA paused agency wide to honor astronauts who perished in efforts to explore and utilize the space frontier. This year’s Day of Remembrance ceremonies focused on the STS-107 crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia who lost their lives when their orbiter broke apart during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003. The seven astronauts included Ilan Ramon, the first citizen from Israel to fly in space.

Since then, Eytan Stibbe, a businessman and former Israeli Air Force fighter pilot, was a member of the 17-day Axiom-1 private astronaut mission to the International Space Station launched by SpaceX on April 8, 2022.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the loss of the crew of Columbia during re-entry of STS-107,” said Janet Petro, director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. “In a community that frequently commemorates the milestones and achievements made possible through the teamwork and contributions of so many, today is a day to recognize and honor those who lost their lives in pursuit of knowledge.”

A colonel in the Israeli Air Force, Ramon was a payload specialist on the STS-107 crew that included NASA astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Mike Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark. They launched Jan. 16, 2003 for a science mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. Upon re-entering the atmosphere 17 days later, Columbia suffered a catastrophic failure as they were re-entering the atmosphere over east Texas. An investigation determined that a breach on the side of the left wing occurred during liftoff when foam fell from the external fuel tank striking the panels.

Evelyn Husband Thompson, widow of STS-107 commander Rick Husband, honored Ramon while speaking at Kennedy during the agency’s Day or Remembrance in 2013.

“Ilan was a tremendously gifted pilot,” she said. “He humbly understood his unique place in history as Israel’s first astronaut. He and his family blessed all of us (Columbia crew and families) by teaching us Jewish traditions.”

Ramon’s life and customs were not only rooted in the Bible, but also in the history of the modern nation of Israel.

Born June 20, 1954, he grew up in Be’er Sheva, a city of 185,000, with parents who were both victims of Nazi persecution. His father, Eliezer Wolferman, fled from Germany in 1935. Wolferman went on to fight in Israel’s War of Independence between 1947 and 1949. Ramon’s mother and grandmother were Holocaust survivors from Poland, having been in the Auschwitz concentration camp. They immigrated to Israel in 1949.

After Ramon graduated from Makif Gimel High School in 1972, he joined the Israeli Air Force (IAF). During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Ramon served in an electronic warfare unit in the Sinai. Afterwards, he attended the IAF flight academy, becoming a fighter pilot. As was customary and expected of IAF pilots, Ramon Hebraizied his name from Wolfferman to Ramon to be more “Israeli sounding.”

In 1980, he participated F-16 Training Course at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. From 1981 to 1983, he served as an F-16 deputy squadron commander for the IAF. On June 7, 1981, Ramon was the youngest of eight F-16 pilots taking part in Operation Opera, Israel’s strike to destroy Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor that was under construction. While the Iraqis insisted the reactor was intended for peaceful scientific research, the Israeli government feared the reactor could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

In 1987, Ramon earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics and computer engineering from Tel Aviv University. Ten years later, he was selected as a payload specialist for an upcoming Space Shuttle mission. Soon after, Ramon began training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, to use the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment, a multispectral camera for recording and studying desert dust.

According to Husband Thompson, Ramon also was “keenly aware of the significance of items he took with him (on STS-107). Each had a profound story.”

Ramon was asked by Isaac Mekel, director of development at the American Society for Yad Vashem, to take an item from the Holocaust museum aboard STS-107. Ramon carried with him a pencil sketch, Moon Landscape, drawn by 16-year-old Petr Ginz, who was murdered in Auschwitz. Ramon also took along a microfiche copy of the Torah (the compilation of the first five books of the  Bible) given to him by Israeli President Moshe Katsav and a miniature Torah scroll (from the Holocaust) that was given to him by Professor Yehoyachin Yosef, a Bergen Belsen concentration camp survivor.

Ramon’s efforts to honor his faith and heritage did not stop with the mementos he took with him. Rabbi Zvi Konikov of the Chabad Jewish Community Center of the Space Coast & Treasure Coasts in Satellite Beach, Florida, told about meeting Ramon prior to STS-107. While speaking at Kennedy’s memorial service for the crew on Feb. 7, 2003, Konikov described how his new friend planned to keep the Sabbath.

“Ilan Ramon turned to me with a question,” he said. “’How does one mark the Sabbath in space — with every 90 minutes another sunset, every 10-and-a-half hours is Sabbath and every 20 days is Rosh Hashana. Jerusalem, we have a problem!’”

Rabbi Konikov explained that he had homework to do.

“I brought his case before some of the world’s leading rabbinic authorities, who ruled that he should keep the Sabbath by the time of his place of departure – Cape Canaveral,” he said.

“Ilan taught us a powerful message,” Konikov noted at this year’s Day of Remembrance.

“No matter how fast we’re going, no matter how important our work, we must pause and think about why we’re here on Earth, and that’s what we’re doing today,” he said. “We pause to recall the memory of all those courageous souls.”

Ramon’s legacy continues to inspire people in Israel and elsewhere. For many years, junior and senior high school students from Be’er Sheva, Israel, make a trip to Kennedy to honor Ramon and draw inspiration from his efforts to explore.

“The students are very interested in Ramon’s participation in the shuttle program,” said Laura Colville, program manager for NASA’s Educator Resource Center during a 2013 interview. “We also try to encourage them to stay in school and pursue higher educational opportunities. Educators in Israel, like America, encourage interest in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Colville noted that the annual pilgrimage began a year after the Columbia accident.

“Since 2004, the scholars from Be’er Sheva have come to Kennedy so they can be here for the Columbia anniversary,” she said. “This year (2013) there was a total of 44 students and three teachers from Makif Gimel High School, Ramon’s alma mater, and Makif Aleph High School that made the trip. They exhibited a great deal of national pride. We were glad to share in it.”

During their visit, the students participated in several educational programs and heard from speakers such as former NASA astronaut Jon McBride. He told of his experiences as a U.S. Navy aviator, which included spending almost two years in Israel. He also spoke about his mission as a pilot on the STS-41G Space Shuttle mission in October 1984.

“As a result of his time in Israel, Jon learned to speak Hebrew and was able to talk with many of the students in their language,” Colville said.

As in previous years, this year’s Day of Remembrance activities included a ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex. The ceremony also honored the astronauts of Apollo 1 who died on Jan. 27, 1967, the STS-51L’s Challenger crew who were lost on Jan. 28, 1986, as well as others who perished in other activities involved in spaceflight.

“NASA’s Day of Remembrance is about pausing and uplifting the legacies of the NASA family who gave their lives to advance the cause of discovery,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson prior to this year’s events. “While this will always be a solemn day, it’s also one of gratitude. We are thankful that NASA’s adventurers shared their lives with us and made life better on Earth.”

At Kennedy, NASA’s Day of Remembrance is hosted in partnership with the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF). A nonprofit organization, the AMF built and maintains the Space Mirror Memorial at the Visitor Complex. The names of the fallen astronauts are emblazoned on the monument’s 4.5-foot-high-by-50-foot-wide polished black granite surface that reflects the sky. It was dedicated in 1991 to honor all astronauts who lost their lives on missions or during training and since has been designated a National Memorial by Congress. Colville noted that out of the 25 names on the Space Mirror Memorial, Ramon’s is the only astronaut from another country.

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