About - Journey of Hope (Book)

"Columbia is lost; there are no survivors"
USA President George W. Bush, February 1, 2003.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton announced that a future NASA Space Shuttle flight would carry an Israeli astronaut. Seven years later that promise was fulfilled when Col. Ilan Ramon, a decorated and heroic Israeli Air Force pilot, was part of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia on Flight STS-107. Two weeks after it launched, within minutes of its scheduled landing, the ship disintegrated, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

This book chronicles the selection, training, flight and death of Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, over a seven-year period. Ramon, a heroic pilot in the Israeli Air Force, was the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors who came to Israel to build new lives. He personified the best of Israel: a family man, a committed Israeli, a proud Jew, a war hero, and, as well, a quiet, modest person.

His story is a paradigmatic success story for Israelis and Jews worldwide. From the depths of the Holocaust to the heights of space, Ramon soared above us all, and represented the desire for universal peace for the whole planet, as seen from space. The flight ended in tragedy, yet this does not diminish the light Ramon brought to Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. In fact, his life - cut short though it was - stands as a beacon to those who despair of triumph in a difficult world at a difficult time. His legacy, and that of the other astronauts, the "Columbia" Seven, will live on.

Journey of Hope captures the drama, humor and humanity of the life and death of Col. Ilan Ramon.

Includes NASA photographs, an interview with Ilan Ramon, articles about Israel's space program and Holocaust memorabilia that Ramon carried with him, the famous Israeli poem read and the complete transcript of President George Bush's comments at the official memorial ceremony for the "Columbia" Seven.

"I began preparing this book in the days before the Columbia Shuttle lifted off into space, and continued to work on it throughout the flight and afterward. It was clear from the beginning that the flight of an Israeli astronaut had touched a nerve in Israelis and Jewish people worldwide."
Alan D. Abbey

64 Pages

Images - Journey of Hope (Book)

Col. Ilan Ramon

The Columbia Seven

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