NASA will update Israel's representatives on the investigation tonight

Body parts of some of the astronauts killed in the crash were found; Space engineers have warned that cuts at NASA are harming safety; Assessment: The crew was aware of the malfunction before the crash; The US has suspended all flights into space. The compilation of news from February 3, the second day after the disaster

The American space agency NASA announced this evening that Harold Gaiman, a former admiral in the space marines, will head the independent investigation team that will look into the circumstances of the Columbia space shuttle crash. Gaiman was previously involved in investigating the circumstances of the explosion of the American destroyer Cole.

All spacecraft fragments collected throughout Texas and Louisiana are transported to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana for testing. The parts will be sent to the investigation team for inspection. Meanwhile, an internal NASA investigation began. The agency emphasizes that the investigation will examine all possibilities, without favoring one theory.
The American space agency NASA will update Israeli representatives this evening on the development of the investigation into the crash of the space shuttle Columbia. The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon, the military attaché, and the Air Force attaché will participate in the meeting. Sean O'Keefe, the director general of NASA, said at a press conference called last night by the space agency that in addition to the internal investigation that began at NASA, an external and independent investigation team will be established to examine the circumstances of the crash.

In the meantime, reports are multiplying today about finding body parts of some of the seven astronauts who were killed in the crash. In Hemphill in East Texas, the shuttle insignia and an astronaut's helmet were found alongside the remains of the bodies. A local hospital employee, Mick Gibbs, reported finding a charred body part, a femur and a skull. Billy Smith, the coordinator of emergency operations in three counties in Texas, in whose territory the remains of the ferry that crashed yesterday were found, confirmed the find. The East Texas County Sheriff's Office confirmed this morning that the remains of the shuttle crew members were found in their county as well. A large part of the remains of the ferry fell into an artificial lake on the Texas-Louisiana border, and efforts to recover it resumed at first light in the USA.
 
A 40% cut in the space program budget in the last decade

The "Washington Post" publishes today that the explosion of the shuttle Columbia did not surprise some US government space experts, who previously expressed concern about the postponement of work to improve the safety of NASA's aging space shuttle fleet. Although safety has always been the watchword at NASA, space engineers have complained several times in the past that budget cuts have meant that Columbia and three other space shuttles have not received much-needed upgrades.

Although none of the scientists who warned of safety failures at NASA pointed to a concrete safety hazard that could have caused the shuttle to crash yesterday, for a long time they warned of the danger of putting safety at the top of the US space agency's priorities. According to them, after a 40% cut in the space program budget in the last decade, NASA can no longer guarantee a perfect and error-free performance.

Following the Columbia crash, the US suspended all space flights. NASA said that the four astronauts on the International Space Station have supplies until June. The four, two Americans and two Russians, were supposed to return to Earth in the American space shuttle "Atlantis" in about a month.

The flight director at NASA, Milt Haflin, said last night that an hour and a half before the expected landing, various malfunctions began to appear in the shuttle. At 14:45 (Israel time) the shuttle's left gear system signaled a malfunction. The temperature gauges on the left side inside the shuttle also indicated a lower temperature than usual about an hour before landing. Haflin also estimated that one of the measurements on the shuttle's computers signaled to the crew that there was a problem, and therefore NASA estimates that the crew was aware of the malfunction before the crash.
 

Rona Ramon to the Prime Minister: Ilan got to fulfill his dream while searching and progressing to a better world

Air Force Commander: The State of Israel, the IDF and the Air Force salute Ilan Ramon and his six friends; It is too early to draw conclusions regarding the circumstances of the disaster, says Major General Dan Halutz; Condolences to Israel also from Russia and the Palestinian Authority

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke early this morning with Rona Ramon, the widow of Colonel Ilan Ramon, and asked to strengthen her hands in her difficult time. Ramon told the Prime Minister that Ilan got to fulfill his dream while searching and progressing to a better world.
 Col. Ilan Ramon, a veteran pilot in the Air Force spent four years preparing for a life mission in which he met his death.
 Last night the Prime Minister spoke with Eliezer Wolferman, the father of Ilan Ramon and strengthened his hands "in this difficult hour". Eliezer Wolferman told the reporters that after learning about the disaster, he spoke on the phone with Rona, Ilan's wife, "who became a widow with 4 children, and we need to strengthen each other". Tonight the family members of Ilan Ramon, his father, brothers and acquaintances, left Israel on their way to the United States.
 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem ordered the Israeli Embassy in Washington to submit possible assistance to the Ramon family.

 President Bush spoke with the Prime Minister last night and asked him to convey his country's condolences to the Ramon family and the people of Israel. Israel, for its part, sent condolences to the families of the astronauts, to the President of the United States and to the American people.

 Officials in Israel receive regular updates from the Space Center in Houston. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz received updates from Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld. State President Moshe Katsav last night spoke on the phone with members of Ilan Ramon's family and said that "the entire nation of Israel stands to their right in this difficult hour".

 Education Minister Limor Livnat instructed the education system to set aside a special hour this morning in which the teachers will talk with the students about the "Columbia" disaster and Ilan Ramon the man, and the values ​​that were embodied in him.

 Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke yesterday with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Netanyahu expressed his condolences for the loss of the American astronauts, and Powell expressed his condolences for the death of Ilan Ramon. Netanyahu said that this is a disaster for Israel, America and all of humanity, while Powell replied that the heart of the American people is with the people of Israel.

 Shimon Peres said that the entire State of Israel sympathizes with the personal loss of the Ramon family "This is a day of mourning and pain for the entire country that watched the wonderful behavior of Ilan Ramon".

 The Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon published a statement of mourning last night and said that in the journey to space Col. Ilan Ramon enlisted for a mission of importance on the national and international level, which was designed to expand human knowledge. The Chief of Staff added that our hearts go out to the Ramon family and the families of the other astronauts.

 The commander of the Air Force, Major General Dan Halutz, called a press conference tonight and said that "the State of Israel, the IDF and the Air Force salute Col. Ilan Ramon and his six companions on Flight 107 STS who did not return from their mission. We embrace his wife, children and family members into our hearts...Ilan Ramon, a member of the Air Force family, friend, commander and fighter. The Air Force salutes Ilan and hugs his family." In connection with the investigation of the incident, Major Dan Halutz says that it is too early to draw conclusions as to the causes of the disaster. "We are sure that the Americans will thoroughly investigate the incident". The commander of the Air Force also says that space is an area where those who are not in it will retreat, and despite the disaster, he sees in his vision another Israeli astronaut who will fly into space in the future.

 Condolences to Israel also come from Russia and the Palestinian Authority. President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Sharon, and Palestinian cabinet member Saeb Erekat expressed condolences on behalf of the PA and Arafat.
"Americans and Israelis are brothers in Israel and in space"
This is what the US ambassador to Israel said at the beginning of the cabinet meeting; Sharon: More Israeli astronauts will be launched into space; Ilan Ramon's relatives came to Houston to support the family; In the center of the space, Gal-Ed was established

The cabinet meeting opened this morning with a short ceremony to commemorate the disaster of the "Columbia" ferry crash. The Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, said that the cooperation between Israel and the USA in the field of space will continue, and that more Israeli astronauts will be sent on exploration missions in space. Sharon noted that he did not get to know the astronaut Ilan Ramon, but he knew about his past as a daring pilot and an outstanding commander.

The US ambassador to Israel, Dan Kartzer, participated in the cabinet meeting and said: The US and Israel share not only victories but also misfortune." According to him, Americans and Israelis are brothers in Israel and in space. The commander of the Air Force, Major General Dan Halutz, also participated in the meeting. The flags of Israel and the USA were lowered to half-mast this morning due to the mourning for the seven astronauts.

Israel sent condolences to the families of the astronauts, to the President of the United States and to the American people. President Bush spoke with Prime Minister Sharon last night and asked him to convey his condolences to the Ramon family and the people of Israel.

At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, an impromptu vigil was set up during the night with flowers, candles and inscriptions in memory of the seven astronauts. The Israeli flag was also raised on the spot. NASA intends to hold an official memorial service this Tuesday, with the participation of the astronauts' families and friends.
 

Beer Sheva: a street named after RamonRona Ramon, the wife of astronaut Ilan Ramon, returned to Houston a few hours after the news of the disaster. Several members of her family arrived this morning from Israel to support her and her four children. Each of the astronauts' families was brought to Houston on a separate plane and each family is closely accompanied by a psychologist and the NASA support team. The Ramon family was accompanied by astronaut Steve McLean, who flew in Columbia 11 years ago. McLean was Ramon's "accompanying astronaut" throughout his training years and became a close friend of the family.

Israel's ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon, met Rona Ramon tonight and said afterwards that he was impressed that she was very strong. She told him about her last conversation with her husband, on Wednesday, when he told her how beautiful the universe was and how much he felt a part of it. "Now he will be part of this universe," said Ramon.

The Prime Minister spoke on the phone last night with Ramon's father, Eliezer Wolferman. According to Wolferman, Sharon told him that he shared his grief. Wolferman replied: "We didn't expect this, until the last moment we hoped it would go smoothly, and that's it, now we don't have Ilan, a big disaster happened to us." The president of the country and the commander of the air force also spoke with Wolferman last night. Many neighbors and acquaintances came to Wolferman's house in Omar.

In Israel they will work to commemorate the memory of the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon. In Be'er Sheva, where Ramon grew up and left after his enlistment, they intend to commemorate him by naming a street after him. The mayor, Ya'akov Turner, told "Haaretz" at the end of a ceremony at the Makif C school where Ramon studied, that the commemoration will be carried out "by naming a street, a square, or an institution in the city after Ramon".

Turner, who is also the head of the Air Force Museum in the premises, announced that a commemorative corner for Ramon will be established in the museum, next to Ron Arad. Among others, Ramon's classmates also came to the ceremony at Kefif C. One of them, Prof. Reuven Segev, told the students that "Ilan was a hero and yesterday afternoon he became a legend."

India is mourning the death of the astronaut

The head of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, yesterday sent his condolences to the families of the seven astronauts. The spokesman for the Authority and the Minister of Local Government, Saib Erekat, said that Arafat also conveyed a message of condolences to the President of the United States, George Bush.

In Baghdad, the first popular reaction to the ferry crash was completely different: this is God's revenge on the Americans, they said there. "We are happy that she crashed," said Abdul Jaber al-Qureishi, a civil servant. "God wants to show that his power is greater than the power of the Americans. They are invading our land and God is taking our revenge."

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent condolences to President Bush. Blair also sent his condolences to Israel. And in India - where they mourned the loss of the astronaut, born there, Kalpana Chawla - Science Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said: "This is an irreplaceable loss. I share the sorrow of all my countrymen."
 
Sharon: Israel will return to space

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon opened the cabinet meeting yesterday (Sunday) with remarks in memory of the Israeli astronaut, Major General Ilan Ramon. The cabinet meeting was unusually joined by the US ambassador to Israel, Dan Kartzer.

Kartzer said at the yeshiva: "The American people and the Israeli people are brothers, both in Israel and in space. The goal will continue, our journey into space will continue. May the memory of the victims be blessed." Kartzer noted the words of Ilan Ramon from the spaceship, that "the world looks wonderful from here, blue, beautiful and fragile."

Prime Minister Sharon opened his remarks by describing the moment when he lost contact with the space shuttle: "We, along with the rest of the world's citizens, followed with anxiety, hope, and prayer the updates that came to us from the space agency. Until the bitter moment when it was clarified beyond any doubt that the seven astronauts perished in the explosion of the space shuttle."

Sharon noted that he unfortunately did not get to know Ramon personally, "not as well as I would have liked", but noted that he knew his past as a daring fighter pilot and as an outstanding commander. "I spoke with Ilan before he took off for his last mission, and I spoke with him during it as well. In my conversations with Ilan, I learned to know a man of values, a man with immense love for this nation and this country, a man who is not worthy of taking in one bundle, the hopes, dreams, history and future of all of us to a higher place far beyond what we ever imagined." Sharon mentioned his conversation yesterday with Ramon's father and his widow Rona, and said that he hopes that everyone will join him in offering condolences and encouragement to this wonderful family, "of which everyone is proud".

The Prime Minister said that the journey to space and the cooperation on this issue with the USA will continue: "The seven astronauts who perished yesterday are part of the heavy price paid by the human race in its longing for knowledge, and in its journey to explore other worlds. Their deaths were not in vain. Man's journey into space will continue. The cooperation between the US and Israel in this area will also continue. A day will come, and more Israeli astronauts will be launched into space. I am sure that each and every one of them will carry the memory of Ilan Ramon on their heart's plaque."

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said at noon that "Lieutenant Colonel Ilan Ramon perished while on a noble mission for the benefit of all humanity. The mystery of our loss is unknown. We will not forget the white stripe in the sky."

The science park that will be established near Kiryat Gat will be named after Ilan Ramon
The board of directors of the science park to be established near Kiryat Gat sympathetically accepted the mayor's proposal to name the park after Ilan Ramon.

This is a national science museum for teenagers that will incorporate elements from space as well, with an investment of NIS 40 million.

The park was initiated by Professor Yuval Naman, a thinker and initiator of the Israel Space Agency, and designed by architect and Israel Prize laureate Dan Tzuri.

A country in mourning
 

It was not an easy morning yesterday for the residents of Israel, who had a hard time digesting what they saw on television on Shabbat evening. Many gathered at workplaces, schools or just on the street and exchanged experiences, with each telling where they were when they heard about the crash.

Those who took the disaster particularly hard were the children, many of whom dreamed of being astronauts when they grew up, and found themselves yesterday with a broken dream. In many schools and kindergartens, they devoted a special hour to the subject, in which they explained to the children what had happened. In others, they set up commemorative corners in memory of Ramon, and even lit memorial candles.

At Ort Kiryat Motzkin High School, where they were in close contact with Ilan Ramon, who even conducted an experiment in the school's student space, they decided to rename the upper division after Ramon. The school declared a day of mourning yesterday, lowered the flag to half-mast, and organized a commemorative corner, where the students brought their photos from the meeting with Ramon in Houston, two years ago.

In Kiryat Gat, the mayor announced that he will name the science park that will be established in the Pelugut area after Ramon, and in Haifa Bay they are considering renaming the technical school of the Air Force, and educating the school's students in the image of the first Israeli astronaut.

Meanwhile, at the Mikif C school in Be'er Sheva, where Ramon studied in his youth, a ceremony was held yesterday in his memory. The mayor, Yaakov Turner, spoke excitedly about Ramon, who was an apprentice at the pilot school, and promised to establish a memorial site for Ramon in the Air Force Museum in the premises, near the memorial wall for pilot Ron Arad.

Hundreds of students gathered in the school hall, and heard the eulogies of Ramon's teachers and classmates. Professor Reuven Segev from Ben-Gurion University, a classmate of Ramon, told the students: "I want you to know that Ilan was a student like you, and his special qualities took him far into space."

Many of the students cried, even though they did not know Ramon personally. Veronika Yagorov from the XNUMXth grade, who could not hold back her tears, said: "I am crying because Ilan was a wonderful person, who could land safely and tell generations of students about the first Israeli journey in space."
Classes in kindergartens across the country opened yesterday with a flood of questions that the children directed towards the kindergarteners. In the compulsory Erez kindergarten in Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem, some of the children said that until yesterday they dreamed of becoming astronauts, but now they are no longer sure. One of them, Matan Weitz, said that "Ilan Ramon must have seen the earth from the sky, so he died happy." Whereas Shuval Mordechai has not yet lost hope. "The spaceship exploded and I saw that they put some kind of tape around the parts of the spaceship. It was very dangerous, but if the parts of the spacecraft fell, maybe there is a chance that the people will also fall back?", she asked.

The Ministry of Education prepared for the flood of curious questions, and today the Ministry of Education is publishing an explanation page for kindergarteners, the purpose of which is to ease the flow of information that fell on the children. According to Dalia Limor, director of the department for pre-primary education at the ministry, "kindergarteners were instructed not to initiate the discussion, but if the topic comes up, it should be accompanied gently, and the mission and the calculated risk taken by the astronauts should be explained. Today the children will be able to express their feelings, in conversations, painting, sculpture and plays. The kindergarteners will offer the children to write to the children of the Ramon family and strengthen them in their difficult time."

Today, in the upper classes, the students of Israel will hold discussions about the Columbia voyage, and among other things, they will try to trace Ramon's journey through a diary compiled by the Air Force Bureau. There will also be a discussion about the objects that Ramon took with him into space: the painting of the boy from the Terezin camp, the flags of the cities of Beer-Sheva and Ramat Gan, the flag of the Air Force Museum and the emblem of the president of the country, and more.
 
 
There is no limit to Kabmatharan to Seoul, from Toronto to Bombay, the world has stopped
Yesterday his breath
Eric Bacher
 
 
 Eric Bacher It was the day of the headline writers. in the whole world. Such a difficult day is easy for the headline writers, because the headlines on such a day should tell a non-controversial story, headlines free of ambiguity. And the headlines expressed sadness all over the world yesterday. Except in Baghdad.
George W. Bush made light work of the newspaper editors, and they flowed with him. "The Columbia's lost" said the president, setting the headline of hundreds and thousands of newspapers all over the world. Except in Baghdad.
Eric Bacher It was the day of the headline writers. in the whole world. Such a difficult day is easy for the headline writers, because the headlines on such a day should tell a non-controversial story, headlines free of ambiguity. And the headlines expressed sadness all over the world yesterday. Except in Baghdad. George Bush made the newspaper editors easy work, and they flowed with him. "The Columbia's lost" said the president, setting the headline of hundreds and thousands of newspapers all over the world. Except in Baghdad. It's an easy title, something like "Houston, we have a problem". In English it doesn't take up much space, managing in one line that leaves the rest of the page to the horror image of a crumbling spaceship, and the words that describe the horror around it so easy for all of humanity to unite. Except in Baghdad.

The space is well photographed in the press. Also the disasters he brings down on us. Because the space is still ours. This is not a deadly mudslide in Brazil, or an earthquake in Turkey, or a massacre in Rwanda. The newspaper does not have headlines like "disaster in American space", or "space accident in the Japanese area". Space is the dream of all mankind. Except in Baghdad.

Condolences reached America from all over the world. From China and Russia, from India and Israel and the Palestinian Authority. And even from Iran, which announced that it knows the difference between political disagreements and a disaster that happened to the mission of all humanity. Because when the day comes to establish colonies in space, the Iranians will also have a place there, if only they don't vaporize us all first. Yesterday, all over the world, mourners wrote to America. Except in Baghdad.

Because in the streets of Baghdad, which until 800 years ago was the treasure of scientific knowledge of civilization, they forgot that the fruits of scientific research are the property of all mankind, for generations. And they don't realize that space exploration will move forward long after the conflict that once existed between one Iraqi generation and one American generation is forgotten.

Israel also received a lot of sympathy in the world yesterday, a lot of sympathetic media coverage. They told of the survivor of the holocaust who brainwashed his pilot son precisely when he was far outside the range of any anti-aircraft weapon invented by man. Almost everywhere they mentioned the first Israeli astronaut with sympathy. Except in Baghdad.

And except in Tehran. The statement of the Iranian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences "to the families of the victims of America and India". Ilan Ramon was not mentioned in Tehran, the same Ilan Ramon who freed Tehran from the threat of Saddam's nuclear weapons.

Jews in the USA: We are doubly sad
"We are Americans and Jews. Therefore, the loss we feel is double," said a member of one of the Jewish communities in the US, referring to the space shuttle Columbia disaster, in which six American astronauts and the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, perished.

Weekend prayers in synagogues and Jewish centers have become memorial ceremonies for astronauts. Rabbis were particularly slow to raise the image of Ramon, who was described as an "Israeli hero" and "one who symbolized the values ​​shared by the United States and Israel." The Consulate General of Israel in New York yesterday distributed a special announcement about the opening of a book of remembrance and invited Jews to sign their names as a sign of participation in the mourning of the USA and Israel.

At morning prayers on Shabbat in synagogues across the US, the worshipers were asked to say "Kaddish" not only for Ramon, but also for the other astronauts, as a sign of solidarity.