On January 16, 2003, NASA''s space shuttle Columbia took off for a 16-day mission to conduct a wide range of experiments in space. • Among the seven-person crew was Colonel Ilan Ramon, a veteran Israel Air Force pilot and Israel''s first astronaut. His acceptance into the NASA space program generated a great sense of pride in Israel that at the time was heavily burdened by the second intifada, an uprising against the state of Israel. Thousands of people were glued to their television sets to watch the launch that seemed to pass without a hitch. Unfortunately, there was a hitch.
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