Published by Kinneret Publishing, Zamora-Beitan: The Crash - Columbia The Story of Mission 107-STS

Avi Blizovsky's book and Yefa Shir-raz; This is the first book in Hebrew on the subject * 272 pages

When the Columbia ferry crashed, a heavy mourning fell on Israel. All the great sadness and bereavement of terrorism in the last two years failed to shock as much as the death of one Israeli did. Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Madina Shlomo asked how it happened that such a disaster occurred precisely in the mission in which an Israeli astronaut participated for the first time.

Now, for the first time, the full story of the shuttle Columbia in mission 107-STS is being published in Hebrew. The book "The Crash" presents the chain of events starting from the decision to launch the mission, up to the latest conclusions of the investigation committee from the beginning of May regarding the causes of the disaster. "The Crash" is based on an investigation conducted by investigative journalist Yaffa Shir-Raz and science journalist Avi Blizovsky, sister and brother, who accompanied the story of the shuttle from the moment it was decided on the participation of an Israeli astronaut.
The complete story of the shuttle Columbia in mission 107-STS shares many details and events, including some that were not known until now:

• Interviews with key people who were involved in the decisions to launch the shuttle
• How did the addition of the Israeli experiment to NASA's space programs affect the very execution of the mission, and later, its timing and routes
• The political pressures that shaped the mission and led to the addition of a scientific flight to the planned space flights
• The preparations of the astronaut team and the shuttle for the flight
• The warnings and alerts before and after the ferry launch
• The experiments conducted on the shuttle
• What happened behind the scenes from the moment of launch to the moment of the crash
• What were the experiments conducted on the shuttle and what was their importance
• The various reasons that could explain the crash on landing
• How did the search for the parts of the ferry go and what guided the searchers
• The complete analysis of the technical and human failures that led to the disaster, as it appears from the conclusions of the investigation committee.

The book includes many conversations Blizovsky had with Ilan Ramon and the other astronauts at their training camp, with NASA personnel and scientists in Israel and around the world. In addition, Blizovsky and Shir-Raz interviewed NASA employees after the disaster, as well as many personalities, including Shimon Peres, the former prime minister, Maj. Gen. Eitan Ben Eliyahu, director of the Israel Space Agency, Avi Har-Evan, who initiated the inclusion of an Israeli astronaut in the flight .

Blizovsky served as the scientific advisor in the preparation of the film "Mission 107" that was broadcast on Channel 2 on the day of Columbia's launch, during which he talked at length with Ilan Ramon, with the other members of the shuttle crew in Houston, with members of the Israeli scientific team and with senior NASA officials.

"The crash" - the story of Mission 107 - STS is a rare journalistic document, updated and based on scientific knowledge and first-rate sources. This is the story of the Columbia shuttle in its mission, the story of human endeavor in the field of space, and the story of Israel's integration into the most daring scientific initiative of all.

To the book page on the bookmark website