Article: COLUMBIA CREW BIO: ILON RAMON

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Columbia crew bio: Ilon Ramon

Feb 01, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Ilan Ramon, 48, a payload specialist aboard the shuttle Columbia -- and the first Israeli astronaut -- was a colonel in the Israeli air force.

He was selected to train at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1998.

"It's very, very peculiar to be the first Israeli up in space, especially because of my background, but my background is kind of a symbol of a lot of other Israelis' background," Ramon said in a pre-launch interview.

"My mother is a Holocaust survivor. My father fought for the independence of Israel, not so long ago. I'm kind of the proof for them, and for ...

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