The big part - paid trials * from the status report published a few hours after the launch
In the photo: the shuttle Columbia in the air on its way to space a few minutes after launch on 16/1 at 17:39 Israel time with the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon inside
In the first attempt, the seven-person shuttle Columbia lifted off at 10:39 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39-A and is beginning a series of zero-gravity experiments at SPACEHAB. The launch team did not detect any significant malfunctions during the countdown which went smoothly.
This mission was the first for 2003 and the first dedicated entirely to research on the shuttle in three years. Mission 107 is the 28th flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the 113th overall of the shuttle fleet.
Columbia carries in its cargo hold a dual research module, SPACEHAB, a normal air pressure environment that the crew members have access to. The module and middle deck of the shuttle will contain most of the more than 80 experiments, involving 70 scientists from around the world who will study space, life and the natural sciences.
The ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star, which are responsible for collecting the launch boosters, are located in the retrieval area, located about 220 km east of Cape Canaveral, and are ready to collect the two boosters for reuse. The ships are scheduled to return to the Cape Canaveral hangar on Saturday.
Ilan Ramon and his six friends therefore start working, not before they organize themselves, adapt to the situation of lack of gravity, and open the experimental chambers.
The operation status report, on the NASA website
The space shuttle was launched with the Israeli Ramon on board
The space shuttle "Columbia" was successfully launched yesterday and entered its orbit, carrying the first Israeli astronaut
The first Israeli astronaut, Lt. Col. Ilan Ramon, was launched yesterday (Thursday) into space aboard the space shuttle "Columbia" at 10:39 a.m. EST in the US (17:39 p.m. Israel time) along with six other crew members. The launch was successful, the rockets and the fuel tank were disconnected from the space shuttle, and it entered an orbit where it would circle the Earth for 16 days, during which its crew members would participate in conducting experiments and operating the space shuttle's equipment. All shuttle systems are working properly.
Colombia has several scientific missions, including an Israeli experiment to study the effect of dust on the formation of clouds and showers, testing the effect of the gravity conditions in space on the ability of bacteria to multiply and the study of mysterious flashes of light that appear during lightning storms.
Yesterday's launch was the 113th time that space shuttles have been launched into space and the 28th time for the shuttle Columbia. After you complete this mission, Columbia will be put in for renovations, during which she will be trained for docking at the International Space Station. In recent years, the US government's investment in the American space program has been significantly reduced and most resources have been concentrated exclusively on the construction of the International Space Station. The expedition departing today will be the first expedition in three years launched for scientific experiments only, and not for the needs of the space station.
A large Israeli delegation arrived in Florida to accompany the launch into space. Among others, former Air Force commanders Eitan Ben Eliyahu and Abihu Ben Nun, and other representatives of the Air Force, the Israel Space Agency and the Israeli missions in the US arrived. The Israeli delegation was taken on a tour of the base yesterday, and visited the ferry itself.
Along with space crew commander Rick Husband, Ramon was the first to enter and tie up inside the space shuttle. This is because Ramon is responsible in the team for rescue, in case of a malfunction during the launch.
A big part of the shuttle mission: paid experiments
17.1.2003
Collected news
The STS-107 space mission launched into space yesterday carries with it an unprecedented number of paid experiments. 18% of the experiment space on the shuttle was dedicated to private experiments and the rest will be dedicated to scientific experiments on behalf of NASA.
The paid experiments are supposed to be used by industrial companies, which need the weightlessness conditions in space and which can only be carried out in space. The companies actually rent the services of NASA, to run the experiments during the space flight.
A new experimental system (SPACEHAB) was installed on board the Columbia where the experiments will be carried out. The system was built by a private company and delivered to the space agency free of charge, in exchange for use in the field. The private experiments are supposed to be used for a variety of subjects, including in the field of medical development and engineering.
The heads of NASA said yesterday that a significant part of the experiments that the agency will carry out as part of the Columbia shuttle mission will be biological experiments designed to examine the state of human health in space. These experiments are necessary for the permanent placement of astronauts for extended periods on the International Space Station, which is being built.
"Columbia" is the oldest shuttle in the shuttle fleet of the American Space Agency (NASA). In recent years, NASA has converted all its other shuttles to astronaut missions for the construction of the International Space Station, which is being established in space with the participation of the USA, Europe, Japan and Canada. Today, Columbia is the only shuttle carrying out scientific research missions. The current flight is Columbia's 28th flight (and the 113th shuttle flight launched by NASA). After nine years of planning and construction, in 1981 Columbia was the first space shuttle to be launched into space and orbit the Earth. A year later, the "Challenger" joined her. The shuttle exploded in 1986 along with its crew of astronauts, in the worst air disaster in the history of space travel. It was followed by Discovery and Atlantis, and Endeavour, which was built in 1991 as a replacement for Challenger.
(Nathan Gutman and Tamara Traubman)
For the American media this is another routine launch
The media interest in the US in the launch of the shuttle "Columbia" with the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on board, was indeed greater than the interest in other space shuttle launches, but it was not comparable in scope to the extensive media coverage in Israel.
The American media, including the television news networks and the written press, reported on the launch while noting the fact that for the first time an Israeli astronaut would be on board the shuttle and while reporting on the special security arrangements for the launch. Beyond that, for the American media, this is another routine launch of the space shuttle. 29 other countries, except Israel, have already sent astronauts into space as part of the US and Russian space programs.
The fact that the shuttle missions concern only scientific experiments meant that the interest in it would be even less than expected. The American public shows interest in space flights, only when they include special operations, such as walking in space, transferring astronauts to and from the space station, or repair operations of satellites in space.
The last peak in media interest in the US space program was four years ago, when astronaut John Glenn returned to space at the age of 76. (Nathan Gutman)
