Israeli astronaut to carry Holocaust art into space

ABC News Online 
January  13, 2003
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s761875.htm


When Israel's first astronaut, Colonel Ilan Ramon, lifts off 
for space aboard the US space shuttle Columbia on Thursday, 
he will carry a pencil sketch of earth, as seen from the moon, 
drawn by a 14-year-old boy who died in the Holocaust.

Mr Ramon, whose mother survived Auschwitz, the same Nazi 
concentration camp where the young artist, Petr Ginz of Prague, 
was killed in 1944, sees his flight as the fulfillment of 
many people's dreams.

"I know my flight is very symbolic for the people of Israel, 
especially the survivors, the Holocaust survivors," Mr Ramon 
said.

"Because I was born in Israel, many people will see this as 
a dream that is come true."

Mr Ramon and six US astronauts will be under heavy guard until 
liftoff. The launch time will not be announced until Wednesday 
as an additional security measure.

Mr Ramon began training for this 16-day science flight almost 
three years ago, when prospects of Middle East peace seemed 
much brighter.

Despite the collapse of peace talks and the escalation of 
violence, 48-year-old Mr Ramon, an Air Force colonel, is 
still optimistic about the meaning of his flight.

"There is no better place to emphasise the unity of people 
in the world than flying in space. We are all the same people, 
we are all human beings, and I believe that most of us, 
almost all of us, are good people," he said.

Ramon is the first Israeli astronaut but will not be the 
first Jew in space.

That was Judith Resnick, who later died aboard the Challenger, 
but made her first flight in 1984.

Other American Jews have flown since them, some making small 
commemorations of their heritage while in orbit.

Mr Ramon is garnering far more attention as an Israeli and 
the son of a Holocaust survivor.

Although he is not religious, he asked to take the first 
Kosher food into space - NASA found an Illinois company that 
vacuum packs Kosher products for hikers and campers - and 
he will also observe the Jewish Sabbath with ritual prayer, 
if time permits.

A debate has arisen among some rabbis over just how to mark 
the Sabbath in space, since astronauts, speeding around the 
planet at over 8 kilometres per second, see the sun set every 
90 minutes, marking the start of another day, according to 
Jewish traditions.

By that reckoning there would be at least two Sabbaths in 
every 24-hour period.

Ramon is expected to rely on Mission Control's clock.

Security is the real concern for Mr Ramon's flight, however.

Since the September 11 attacks on America, Cape Canaveral 
has bristled with warships, fighter jets, missile launchers 
and commandos for every shuttle launch.

Small aircraft that wander into a vast no-fly zone around 
the launch pad are quickly intercepted by F-15s.

Though no specific threat has emerged against Mr Ramon or 
the shuttle mission, NASA acknowledges that an Israeli astronaut 
sitting on a US shuttle loaded with 2.273 million litres of 
rocket fuel could make a target.

"I think that NASA security is doing everything needed. 
I feel great, I think everyone feels safe," said Mr Ramon.