Ilam Ramon

[dauph]

Hi everyone,



A quick question about this true National Heroe... it is true that he was one of the pilots who destroyed a nuclear power plant? I'm looking for information about this fact.

Thanks to all...

Martin

[Guy]

Hi everyone,

A quick question about this true National Heroe... it is true that he was one of the pilots who destroyed a nuclear power plant? I'm looking for information about this fact.

Thanks to all...

Martin

Yes, Ilan Ramon was one of the F-16 pilots who targeted the Nuclear reactor ( not power plant ) in Osiraq.

[dauph]

Thanks a lot for the informations... with this I'm now able to find more details.

Thanks to you Guy!


Martin

[jay]

Thanks a lot for the informations... with this I'm now able to find more details.

Thanks to you Guy!


Martin
check out the israel today website,they ran an article on him a few years ago.as i remember ,one of the few things found intact after the shuttle crash was Ilan's Israel flag patch.

[jay]

Ilan Ramon was born June 20,1954, in Tel Aviv (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/geo/tatoc.html), Israel. Ramon graduated from High School in 1972, and received a bachelor of science degree in electronics and computer engineering from Tel Aviv University in 1987.
In 1974, Ramon graduated as a fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force (IAF) (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/iaftoc.html) Flight School. From 1974-1976, he participated in A-4 Basic Training and Operations. The years 1976-1980 were spent in Mirage III-C training and operations. In 1980, as one of the IAF's establishment team of the first F-16 Squadron in Israel, he attended the F-16 Training Course at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. From 1981-1983, he served as the Deputy Squadron Commander B, F-16 Squadron. From 1983-1987, he attended Tel Aviv University. From 1988-1990, he served as Deputy Squadron Commander A, F-4 Phantom Squadron. During 1990, he attended the Squadron Commanders Course. From 1990-1992, he served as Squadron Commander, F-16 Squadron. From 1992-1994, he was Head of the Aircraft Branch in the Operations Requirement Department. In 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned as Head of the Department of Operational Requirement for Weapon Development and Acquisition. He stayed at this post until 1998. Colonel Ramon has accumulated over 3,000 flight hours on the A-4, Mirage III-C, and F-4, and over 1,000 flight hours on the F-16. Ramon also served in the Yom Kippur War (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/1973toc.html) and Operation Peace for Galilee (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/lebtoc.html). He was reported also to be one of the pilots involved in the raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Osirak.html) in 1981 (Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/), January 17, 2003).
In 1997, Colonel Ramon was selected by NASA (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/nasa.html) to serve as a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia. In July 1998, he reported for training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston.
The seven member crew of STS 107, including Col. Ramon, successfully launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia at 10:39 a.m. EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, for a 16-day mission (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/nasa.html#mission). During the mission, Ramon conducted a number of experiments and the flight was considered a great success.
"Being the first Israeli astronaut -- I feel I am representing all Jews and all Israelis," Ramon said. Referring to his mother and grandmother, who both survived imprisonment in Auschwitz (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/autoc.html), he added, "I'm the son of a Holocaust survivor -- I carry on the suffering of the Holocaust generation, and I'm kind of proof that despite all the horror they went through, we're going forward."
Although Ramon described himself as a secular Jew, special kosher meals were made for his journey and he consulted with rabbis before leaving about the proper way to observe Shabbat (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Shabbattoc.html) from space.
Ramon carried several personal souvenirs with him into space. His wife gave him four poems and his father gave him photographs of the family. His 15-year-old son, Assaf, and Ramon's brother, Gadi, both gave him letters to be unsealed and read only after he was in orbit. Israel's president, Moshe Katsav, gave him a credit card-size microfiche copy of the Bible. He also took a pencil drawing titled "Moon Landscape" by a 14-year-old Jewish boy, Peter Ginz, who was killed at Auschwitz.
Ramon's journey into space occurred as Israelis continued to suffer through a horrendous period of violence and helped lift the nation's spirits. Ramon was a national hero and a symbol of hope.
Tragically, just minutes before landing on February 1, the Columbia exploded; Ramon and the six American astronauts aboard with him were killed.
Ramon leaves behind a wife, Rona, and four children.

Source: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13475-2003Feb2.html), (February 2, 2003)http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/transparent.gif

[jay]

Begin wanted to wait until he had cabinet unity. Ministers Yosef Burg, Yigael Yadin and Ezer Weizman initially did not agree, they did not think it would do any good," [Ze'ev Raz] told The Jerusalem Post. 'Shimon Peres, to this day, still says it was a big mistake, but in the end, Chief of General Staff Rafael Eitan, Air Force general David Ivry, and [Menachem Begin] himself persuaded the other ministers to go along with the raid." Raz was a soldier, battle-hardened in the Yom Kippur War, and he left the bickering to the politicians. His only concern was completing the mission, and returning home the seven pilots he personally chose for the raid.
"The first person I consulted was my Captain Ilan," Raz said, referring to Ilan Ramon, who became Israel's first astronaut and who died in the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. "Ilan said it was slightly out of range, but we figured out that if we jettisoned the external fuel tanks the moment they were empty, we ridded ourselves of the drag and significantly increased our range."
Using Osirak as a case study, Teheran has spread out and buried its nuclear facilities, and with a defense consisting of Russian SA- 2, SA-5, SA-6 as well as shoulder- launched SA-7 missiles, the challenge of crippling Iran's nuclear projects was beyond the reach of the Israeli air force, and or even a sustained air attack by Americans, says Raz.

[dauph]

Thanks a lot Jay, your input is greatly appreciate!

Martin

[jay]

you are very welcome,the man was a hero.after his death cartoons appeared in arab newspapers celebrating his death,the papers have a tradition of mocking Israel and the west and christianity-which makes them look pretty stupid over the protests for the danish cartoons!
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