Avi Blizovsky
The space shuttle Columbia continues its missions this morning (Saturday) without incident after a flight of more than a day and a half. The shuttle flies at an altitude of two hundred and eighty kilometers above the earth.
Shuttle commander Rick Hezband said tonight that the seven crew members have finished organizing and are moving without difficulty inside. In messages published on behalf of NASA, it is stated that the astronauts are performing the first experiments out of dozens of planned experiments. Among other things, Ilan Ramon, with the help of his friends, operated the cameras of the program to check the dust in the skies of the Middle East. With this, the first photographs revealed that clouds in the area will make it difficult to detect dust storms from space in the coming days.
In another experiment that the astronauts did since its inception, they were able to grow a large cancerous tumor under conditions of weightlessness. The purpose of the experiment is to find out ways of genetic therapy for tumors in the prostate gland and colon.
The BBC devoted an item to the Israeli news coverage of the space shuttle on Thursday. "The calmest man was Ilan Ramon, lieutenant colonel and fighter pilot. The British website emphasizes the many security measures we will take, including the many soldiers, dogs trained to sniff out explosives and fighter jets brought in due to Ramon's presence along with a delegation of 300 people from Israel.
For news at the BBC
NASA congratulates on a successful launch, Ilan Ramon has begun research in space
Israel Space Agency press release
Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, began his work in space after the successful launch of the shuttle "Columbia". Ilan Ramon even contacted the control center in Houston and said: "I am proud to be the first Israeli to fly into space."
Ramon and the shuttle crew are now about 275 km above the Earth. They circle us once every hour and a half and will make 256 laps of the ball before they return, on February 1st.
The "Columbia" mission is the first research mission carried out by NASA in about three years. Since 1998, most of the missions of the space shuttles have been allocated in favor of the International Space Station project, when they carried to and from the station replacement crews of astronauts, supplies and parts of the station that is slowly being built in space.
In the current mission, the cargo compartment of the shuttle was blown up in favor of a sophisticated laboratory where the crew members will perform about eighty experiments mostly related to the study of microgravity, the absence of gravity. Among the experiments is the Israeli experiment which aims to study dust storms over the Middle East and their effects on the weather and global warming. During the 16-day stay in space, the experiments will be conducted in two shifts, with the entire team divided into two teams, with the "red" team working, the "blue" team resting, and then changing. In recent days, the astronauts from the different teams were also instructed to sleep at different hours, in order to get them used to different work.
NASA)
Ilan Ramon - The clock is coming soon
By: Walla system!
The first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who took off into space on Thursday ignited the feeling of Israeli patriotism and did not overlook that of commercial entities that want to cut a coupon at his expense.
The "Olive Tree" hotel in Jerusalem decided to name the suite in the hotel - "The Ilan Ramon Suite", and announced that it would be happy to host the astronaut and his family, when they return to Israel, as the first guests of the room system. The Ramon Suite resides in a respectable proximity to the "Begin Suite" and the "King Hussein Suite".
In the company "American Comfort" they decided that the astronaut was suffering from discomfort in the space shuttle "Columbia", despite the state of zero gravity. The company decided to give him a sophisticated massage chair with a telephone connection as a gift, so that upon his return from the arduous journey he could rest, indulge in a massage and talk to all his relatives and friends.
The "Adi Watches" company also decided to commemorate the historic event with a special watch with an illustration of a spaceship, the initials of the astronaut (AR) and the date of the spaceship's launch - 16.1.03.
On the new television channel "Teklet" (the Jewish channel) it was decided to offer Ilan Ramon to host a weekly talk show, which will deal with Israelis who have become famous in the world in various fields. The channel notes that the program will only air at the beginning of June, so there will be time to wait for Ramon's answer.
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