RAMON

Col. Ilan Ramon, 48, built upon his professional training in the Israel Air Force as an F-16 pilot when he was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1997. His task as a payload specialist was to command a multispectral camera for recording desert aerosols. That mission was STS-107 and, indeed, his view from space included Saharan sandstorms. Ramon was born in Tel Aviv, the son of a Holocaust survivor. He held a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from the University of Tel Aviv. His air force duties included command positions with F-4 and F-16 squadrons; it was his F-16 squadron that carried out Israel's 1981 raid against Iraq's nuclear reactor near Baghdad. He had more than 1,000 hr. in F-16s and 3,000 hr. in Mirage III-Cs, F-4s and A-4s. He was Israel's first astronaut. He leaves a wife and four children.

  USAF Col. Rick Douglas Husband
  Col. Ilan Ramon
  Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla
  Capt. David M. Brown
  U.S. Navy Cdr. William C. McCool
  Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson
  U.S. Navy Capt. (select) Laurel Blair Salton Clark

Special Report: Columbia Investigation