Reports on the preparations for the flight, 11 days before the launch
5/1/2003
Avi Blizovsky
The designated Israeli astronaut told an AP reporter in Houston on Friday (3/1/03) that he does not expect to become a target of Israel's enemies because spaceflight is a unifying factor for humans.
"There is no better place to express the unity between people in the world than to fly into space" said Ilan Ramon. "Space is similar to every person in every country, including Arab countries. Wherever we are, we are the same people and I believe that most of us, maybe almost all of us are good people."
Ramon, a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Air Force, is scheduled to fly in the space shuttle Columbia on January 16 along with six other crew members on a flight that has been postponed for a long time, and its timing - just as the tension in the Middle East rises and the US prepares for an attack on Iraq.
Tight security will be in place when the shuttle departs from Canaveral in Florida, but NASA officials said that the level of security has increased since the events of September 11 and not necessarily in preparation for this specific flight.
The flight was supposed to be launched in July, but the flight was postponed when NASA found cracks in the fuel lines of all four shuttles, including Columbia.
This problem has been solved, however, when you look at NASA for cracks in the balancing balls of the fuel tubes of all the shuttles. The flight director, Kelly Beck, said at a press conference at the Johnson Space Center that preparations for TISSA are continuing and no decision has been made so far on whether to postpone the launch.
As the first Israeli to fly into space, Ramon said he would try to adapt some symbolic Jewish traditions to the mission. He also said that he would take with him a painting called "Moonscape" painted by a Jewish boy who perished in a concentration camp during World War II.
His main task will be to conduct scientific studies using an instrument to measure the movements of the dust storms over the Middle East. Ramon said that the ferry's mission would be a change in the public atmosphere in Israel, when the main concern in Israel today is not the violence but the faltering economy.
As in many other countries, Israel has a major economic problem and unemployment, and this is today the most serious problem in Israel," he said.
NASA officials said at the press conference that 79 experiments, most of them testing the effect of the lack of gravity, will be performed during the 16-day flight.
Astronaut Ramon attracted most of the attention at his team's press conference
space / fear of a terrorist attack due to the presence of Ilan Ramon on board the ferry; After a six-month delay, Columbia will be launched on January 16
(Nathan Gutman, Haaretz) Less than two weeks before the launch of the space shuttle "Columbia", with the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on board, there is still uncertainty regarding the launch date; This is because new cracks were discovered in the shuttle's fuel system.
The shuttle was supposed to be launched into space about six months ago, but even then cracks were discovered and the entire NASA shuttle fleet was grounded until the problem was checked and repaired. The flights into space have been resumed and it is estimated that the newly discovered cracks will not necessarily require another postponement of the flight.
"We can't definitively say yet if the shuttle will leave on time," Space Mission Director Kelly Beck said Friday at a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The final decision will only be made upon completion of the readiness tests on January 9.
Space probe STS-107 is scheduled to depart from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16 for a 16-day mission that will focus on scientific experiments related to climate, medicine and technology. But most of the attention is focused on the fact that one of the seven crew members is Israeli.
The presence of Colonel Ilan Ramon from the Air Force aroused the most interest at the press conference and raised renewed questions about security and fear of terrorism. The heads of NASA have already emphasized in the past that they will not change the security procedures due to the participation of an Israeli in the shuttle crew. They stated that since September 11, the protection of the American space facilities has been greatly increased and that with every launch into space fighter jets patrol the area of the launch base and that Coast Guard ships are standing by off the coast of Florida. In the last year, the guarding of the bases themselves has also been increased and there is extra strictness regarding the entry procedures. Ramon himself says that he is not afraid that he will become a target for a terrorist attack - "on the contrary", he says, "there is no better place to emphasize the unity between all people on a space plane (...) I don't think of myself as a target, but as a human being." We are all human and our mission in space is to ensure a better life on Earth."
Preparations for the launch of the Israeli astronaut into space have been going on for more than four years. Two and a half years ago, the expedition's training began, but the road was full of delays, due to technical reasons, and due to giving priority to space missions that were related to the construction of the International Space Station. The last postponement in July was decided only two weeks before the launch - "at least we could have taken a short vacation", crew chief Rick Husband tried to present the postponement in a positive light.
For three of the seven astronauts who embarked on the mission, this will be their second time in space. "After the first time you get addicted to it. I want to go back and look out at the Earth and the stars - it's like reliving a good dream," said crew member Kolpana Chawla, who has previously flown into space.
Ramon, for whom this will be the first flight into space, said that at the first opportunity he would try to see Israel and Jerusalem from space. At the press conference, he stated that although he is not religious, he will try to maintain the Jewish tradition during his stay in space. He asked to receive kosher food and even said that he would mark the arrival of Shabbat, despite the difficulty in determining the time in space. However, he will not be able to stop his work on Saturday because of the load of experiments.
One of the 79 scientific experiments that will be carried out in space is done in cooperation with the Israeli Space Agency. This is about tracking dust storms to locate climatic phenomena. The delay in the launch date meant that the dust storm season has already passed, but the scientists hope that during the 16 days in space it will still be possible to locate an accidental storm.
Will the Israeli astronaut be grounded again?
Col. Ilan Ramon was the attraction of the press conference, which was held before the launch of the "Columbia" ferry * The flight is supposed to leave in 11 days, but it is not yet certain. This is reported by Yitzhak Ben-Horin, a Ma'ariv writer in Washington
The American space agency is concerned about a crack with a diameter of five centimeters, which was discovered during a routine inspection in the sphere connected to the liquid oxygen supply system in the shuttle "Discovery". This discovery causes tension in NASA and raises question marks regarding the launch of the shuttle "Columbia", in which the Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon is supposed to fly in 11 days.
The working assumption at NASA is that there is a similar crack in all of the space agency's shuttles, but the lack of time does not allow for a physical examination of the fault in Columbia. In the last two weeks, simulations have been carried out under laboratory conditions, to check whether the malfunction could endanger the ferry passengers. If they come to the conclusion that such a concern exists, it will be decided to postpone the flight again. NASA does not take even minor risks, since the Challenger disaster in the 80s.
In July, cracks were discovered in the pipes of the ferries, and all flights were grounded for four months. Ramon's flight, which was supposed to take place six months ago, was postponed. Ramon, who has been waiting four and a half years to go into space, was asked on Friday about the possibility of the launch being delayed again, and replied that "I have a lot of patience, but I don't want another delay. I'm ready to launch." The feeling of Ramon and his friends is that the flight will go ahead on time this time, but the final "OK" will only be given this Thursday.
On Friday, the seven astronauts appeared for the traditional press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, two weeks before the scheduled takeoff, and most of the reporters' questions were directed to the Israeli astronaut, "Colonel Ramon." To the question whether the presence of an Israeli is not a source of security concern, flight director Kelly Beck replied in the negative. "We have tightened the security arrangements since the September 11 attacks", he clarified. One of the aggravations is that the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will not announce the planned launch time until the 16th of the month.
The scientific monthly for youth "Rosh Gadol" is published in a special issue for the flight of the Israeli astronaut
5.1.2003
The science monthly for young people is published this month in an expanded festive issue in preparation for the flight of the first Israeli astronaut into space. Among the topics:
Landmarks in space exploration in Israel
Prof. Yuval Naaman talks about the revolutions in science (relativity and quantum) that guided modern science and the path Israel has taken since the establishment of the Israel Space Agency (1981), since the launch of the first Israeli satellite 'Ofek 1' on the Israeli rocket 'Shavit' until an Israeli flight into space as a member of the crew ferry. These achievements were acquired thanks to the emphasis placed on the human resource - education, research and evaluation.
· The Israeli Space Agency and the Columbia shuttle flight STS-107
Avi Har Even talks about the cooperation agreement with NASA that preceded the integration of Israeli pilots into the shuttle crew and the variety of experiments that will be conducted in the current research flight that Israel is participating in.
· Desert dust and 'elves' at the limit of the atmosphere
Prof. Yehoyachin Yosef and Dr. Yoav Yair from Tel Aviv University talk about the array of Israeli experiments that will be conducted on the shuttle: the study of desert dust and the collection of information on the phenomenon of unique electrical discharges that accompany lightning storms. Another experiment is the 'Chemical Garden' - the study of growing solids in space.
· Cameras in space
About the Israeli space camera manufacturer - Al-Op and how we see from hundreds of kilometers what others try to hide.
· Communication satellites
on the satellites orbiting together with the earth and allowing us a variety of modern communication services: television, telephones, data transfer and more. and on a daughter plant of the aerospace industry that produces the satellites and has its eyes on the microsatellites of the future.
· A house on Mars
Prof. Peter Hillman talks about the possibility of life on Mars illustrated in a new exhibition at the Science Museum in Jerusalem.
· Extraterrestrials - between science and science fiction.
Shay Quas talks about the mutually inspiring relationship between fantasy and science.
· Haim where are you?
Dr. Etti Kochavi describes the conditions for life on planets in the universe.
· Paths of the planets - a journey along the axis of knowledge
Robert Bartz makes an introduction to the orbits of the planets - from the ancient conception of the universe that placed the earth at the center of the universe, through Copernicus who placed the sun in the center but left the circular orbits intact, to Kepler who discovered the ellipticity in the motion of the planets.
· The conquest of the moon - how man first set foot on the lunar soil and returned from there.
· Natan Zelds tells about computers in the body of robots that will be forced to think and decide on their own - about the variety of future roles that computers will play in space exploration.
· Dr. Tal Alexander shares with us his experiences tracking a star that orbited a black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy - the home address of our solar system.
· First in space - a trivia reminder for those who were the first in the landmarks of the human journey in space.
· In addition as usual, a variety of news, science entertainment, a home laboratory and more.
The monthly is published by the association 'Rosh Gedol for the Advancement of Knowledge and Scientific Education (AR)'
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Zohar Guri
System phone: 03-6771898 Website: www.roshgadol.org.il
