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t Speaker: Dr. Edward Dabrowski
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Sabra In Space
Fighter pilot will be first Israeli on NASA flight.
IRENE BROWN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
served two stints as deputy command-
er for F-16 and F-4 squadrons, sand-
wiching four years of college at Tel
Aviv University in between his corn-
mand posts. He studied electronics
and computer engineering, earning a
bachelor's of science degree.
Ramon's last bout of schooling was a
squadron commander's course, which
prepared him to lead an F-16
squadron and then move up to head
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
or 25 years, Ilan Ramon
strapped himself into fight-
er jets to help protect the
country of his birth, Israel.
Soon, the Air Force colonel will
have a chance to view his embattled
homeland from a perspective never
before seen by a sabra (native
Israeli). Col. Ramon, a 48-year-old
father of four, is going into space.
"Every time you are the first, it's
meaningful," Ramon said during an
interview at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston. "Probably the
fact that I'm the son of a Holocaust
survivor is even more symbolic"
than usual.
"I'm proof that even with all the
hard times we are going forward."
Ramon, who is flying as a guest
research scientist aboard the space
shuttle Columbia, is scheduled to
spend 16 days orbiting Earth with six
career U.S. astronauts. The launch is
scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16.
Ramon and his crewmates have
learned patience. In the 21/2 years since
Ilan 1?anzon
they began training, NASA has had to
delay their mission several times to
the aircraft branch in the Air Force's
accommodate more pressing flights.
Operations Requirement Department.
The last delay, triggered by a fleet-
Ramon earned the rank of colonel
wide problem with the space shuttle's
in 1994 and took over control of the
fuel systems, lasted six months.
Weapon Development and
Acquisition department — a post he
F-16 Squadron Leader
held until 1997 when a colleague
called and asked him if he'd like to
NASA's caution, however, sits well
train as an astronaut.
with Ramon, who has made a career
in risky endeavors.
Upon graduation from high school
Becoming An Astronaut
in Tel Aviv, Ramon, like most Israeli-
born youths, was drafted into the mili- At first, Ramon thought the offer was
a joke.
tary. He then attended flight training
But with the blessings of the
school. When he was just 19 and still
Clinton administration, former NASA
a pilot-in-training, Ramon was tapped
administrator Daniel Goldin and the
to serve in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The danger, however, did nothing to Israeli government ironed out an
agreement for cooperative space ven-
quench his desire for flight.
tures between the two countries —
"I love to fly," said Ramon, who
including the training and flight of an
moved on to A-4 and Mirage III-C
Israeli astronaut.
aircraft training and operations before
"When I was a kid growing up,
becoming part of Israel's first F-16
nobody in Israel ever dreamed — well
fighter squadron.
"Flying aircraft — fighter aircraft — most people wouldn't dream — of
being an astronaut because it wasn't on
is great and I was very happy." Ramon