Gil: If you wouldn't mind just giving me a little bit of background -- where you are from? Where you were born?
Ilan: I was born in Israel in Ramat Gan in 1954 -- my father is originally from Germany -- Berlin -- he made aliyah just in time in 1935 and my mother is originally from Poland. She is a survivor of Auschwitz, and she arrived in Israel in 1949. I have one brother older than me a little bit. I was raised in both Ramat Gan and Beersheva. And since 1972 I am in the Israeli Air Force, a pilot with a 5-year break in service during 1983-1988. I flew all kinds of fighters, including Skyhawk,  Mirage and I actually fly an F16 since 1980 until this very day. I got married  in 1986. My wife is Rona, she is from Israel. We have four kids, three boys, 13, 11, 8, and one girl, 4 years old.

Gil: And they are all with you here in the States?
Ramon: Yes, all of us have been here exactly three years. We arrived in Houston for training at NASA JSC.

Gil: What does that stand for?
Ramon: Johnson Space Center. This is actually the center of all human space flights, so all the astronauts are here.

Gil: Are you there with astronauts from other countries as well?
Ramon: Yes, all the astronauts are right here.

Gil: What other countries are currently training?
Ramon: Right now they have about 150 or 160 astronauts, 25 of them I believe are international. All the international guys, except maybe for me, are connected to the space station  -- the International Space Station. So they are coming from countries that are in this program, which there are actually 16 states --11 out of Europe, Russia Canada, Japan, Brazil.

Gil: And you're the only trainee who is not involved with the Space Station?
Ramon: Right now I believe I am the only one.

Gil: How did that happen? 
Ramon: In late '95, in an agreement between President Clinton at that time and Prime Minister Peres, the U.S. offered Israel to have mutual trial space program and actually invited Israel to conduct a space experiment on the space shuttle with an Israeli astronaut.

Gil: And how were you selected?
Ramon: The state of Israel decided the first one would be from the Air Force -- much like here in the U.S., by the way. In most countries I believe, maybe all of them, the first astronauts were all pilots. So they decided that.  So the Air Force got into the selection process which is exactly the same they do for any kind of nomination within the Air Force

Gil: It sounds very competitive
Ramon: It is very competitive. They had two requirements -- one was to have a technical or science education and secondly was to be involved in experiments in the Israeli Air Force. So whoever answered these two requirements was on the list and they selected me in the same selection process they do for any kind of position in the Air Force.

Gil: Do you remember how you felt when you learned that you had won?
Ramon: I was excited, (laughs) I was very excited and all kinds of pictures were moving in my head. Of course I didn't know too much about the space program at that time because it wasn't any kind of a dream for me, especially because nobody had done it yet at the time from Israel. At least myself, I didn't think about it; at that time I was on the way to retirement from the Air Force and in a few months I wouldn't be there any more so it was a surprise for me and I was very excited.

Gil: What sort of pictures did you envision in your mind?
Ramon: Well, seeing earth from space, floating around and all this stuff you see in the movies you know. I was very excited. 

Gil: How did your father react?
Ramon: He was excited as well. He is excited still until this day.

Gil: And you are the only Israeli training now, right?
Ramon: Right.

Gil: So what does it mean to you on a personal level to be representing Israel?
Ramon: It is an exciting time for me. First of all, because space is exciting and to be here in training...to know closely almost all the astronauts -- every mission that they fly -- to know at least one or two very closely. So you are kind of very involved in everything that goes on here.
  And from the representative point of view, I really feel that I represent not only the Air Force but all of the Israeli state and the Jewish communities in the U.S. and wherever they are. I meet a lot of Jewish organizations and people here in the U.S. and some time I feel maybe it's even more important and they appreciate maybe much more than the Israelis -- this kind of event. For them it is a big event -- it's a big issue.

Gil: The American Jews?
Ramon: Yes, to have an Israeli Jewish person to fly to space I think it is much more appreciated here in the U.S. by the Jewish people.

Gil:  Wait until you fly and then watch the reaction in Israel.
Ramon: Right. I mean everybody is going to be excited but it is much more symbolic for the Jewish community here. I think they appreciate it more.

Gil: Why do you think that is?
Ramon: I didn't think it over too deeply but I think there are several reasons. One of them is probably that there is so much going on in Israel that they don't have too much time to appreciate this. And the second is that in Israel -- and I learned it only from being here -- you don't appreciate so much your freedom and your ability to do whatever you want to do because you are in your state within Israel.

Gil: You mean your freedom as a Jew?
Ramon: As a Jew. When you go out of Israel you suddenly feel how much the state of Israel is important for the Jewish communities. And vice-versa by the way, I feel very much -- very strongly how we in Israel -- that live in Israel, need all the Jewish communities outside of Israel. So from this point of view, it was very important and very, very interesting to recognize this.

Gil: I read in an article that you had asked that they provide you with kosher food even though you don't keep kosher.
Ramon: Right. I asked for kosher food because of the symbolic issue of it.  And NASA is doing everything that they can do to provide it to me.

Gil: That's very touching -- both that you would do it and that NASA would respond.
Ramon: Right.

Gil: Are you planning to bring anything Jewish into space with you?
Ramon: Of course, I will have the Israeli flag up there and I have some more symbolic things that I will carry with me. Some of them are going to represent the six million people that we lost in the Holocaust  -- some of them will probably symbolize some kind of the  history of Israel -- so yes, I am going to carry on with me several symbolic things.

Gil: When is your flight scheduled?
Ramon: Right now it is scheduled for late May next year

Gil: How many people will be going with you?
Ramon: We are a crew of 7 people.

Gil: Where are the others from?
Ramon: They are all Americans -- although one of them is originally from India. But she is an American. She has lived here over 20 years.

Gil: How long is the mission?
Ramon: 16 days. It's a research mission. We will have on board dozens of experiments.  All kinds of experiments -- one of them will be the Israeli experiment.

Gil: Which is what?
Ramon: It's called Mediex, which stands for Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiments and it deals with dust air aerosols, which are tiny little particles from dust storms that are moving with wind and weather in the atmosphere formed in the Sahara desert over the Mediterranean Sea and also over the Atlantic Ocean.
   And those particles have a great impact on global warming and cooling and also on precipitation -- so the research is this. The tools or the instrument is a special camera that I will use. It will be mounted out of the tool compartment in the payload bay and I will use it to take video photos of these aerosols from space.

Gil: I see. Are you a science specialist on this mission?
Ramon: They call me a payload specialist.

Gil: What does that mean?
Ramon: Well, they have all kinds of names  -- actually you have three kinds of astronauts.  One kind is the pilots, the second ones are called mission specialists and the third one is called a payload specialist.
   Now, the difference between a mission and payload specialist is that the payload specialist is a guy that comes for special payload experiments and he usually flies once and that's it. The mission specialists are doing all kinds of experiments and are career astronauts. In my case, it is a very special situation because I came here under the agreement between NASA and the Israel Space Agency as a payload specialist but I actually act like a mission specialist because I am involved with all of the experiments that are on board.

Gil: So, maybe you'll get to do another flight?
Ramon: Who knows? (laughs) It's not planned right now.

Gil: It wouldn't upset you?
Ramon: It wouldn't upset me -- no.

Gil: How have your wife and children reacted to this whole adventure?
Ramon: For them it is a big adventure as well. Leaving the State of Israel to live in the U.S. is by itself a very special experiment, which is not so easy. Some of them did not know a word in English and we just stuck them in public school and they had to struggle their way through.

Gil: Beyond that -- how do they feel about the whole astronaut training and the space travel?
Ramon: They are excited as well and they probably will be more as time grows closer to the launch.

Gil: Had anything particularly funny happened to you as a part of this whole training and getting ready for the trip?
Ramon: Well, we have a lot of funny things going on here in the crew. We are in the same office and we are going through a lot of training together so we are kind of a very close group but anything special…(pause)

Gil: Anything related to you being Israeli?
Ramon: Not really -- not really.

Gil: How about politics? Do you guys talk politics? Do the astronauts from the other countries get into that at all or do you just do your business and stay out of that?
Ramon: We try to stay out of that. It's NASA's policy not to be involved in any politics but you know, personally when you get together in the evening of course you talk politics a little bit.

Gil: Is there a way that a person can keep track of the work you are doing? Is there a website or a way to read about you?
Ramon: There will be later. Actually there is one already but it's kind of -- because we are about a year before launch -- its not fully operational.

Gil: Here's a final question for you. This issue of our magazine for Rosh Hashanah is going to Jewish communities all over North America. Is there anything special for Rosh Hashanah you would care to say as the first Israeli who will be in outer space?
Ramon: Yes, I think I can say to all the Jews here in North America that the support I find here all across the Jewish communities for Israel is amazing. And it is very very important for us in Israel and I really appreciate all the support that you guys are giving us.
   And vice-versa, I know how much the state of Israel is important to you. So it's a kind of mutual interest for the Jewish community all over the world to be like one. I found it here while being in the United States and it's very warming and very important.

Gil: Any special message just for Rosh Hashanah?
Ramon: Happy Rosh Hashanah -- Happy New Year and hopefully this coming year will be the year that I will be watching you all from space and I'll be waiting for you all to wave back to me.

Gil: You know we'll be watching you with pride.

A special e-mail address has been created for the public to express condolences to the Ramon family and to the people of the State of Israel. Send e-mail to:  ilanfamily@mail.idf.il. To send condolences for the rest of the Columbia crew, click here.

Click here to see the Ilan Ramon Memorial pages at the Israel Science and Technology Homepage. 

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