Ilan Ramon

Ilan Ramon was born in 1954 in Ramat Gan

Ilan Ramon was born Ilan Wolfferman in Ramat Gan in 1954. His father's family fled Nazi Germany in 1935, and his mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz and came to Israel in 1949. The family moved to Beersheba in 1962, where he finished high school in 1972.

He joined the Air Force in 1972 and changed his surname to Ramon. He finished the pilots' course in 1974 and flew the Skyhawk, the Mirage and later the F-16. In 1981 he took part in the strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor, and in 1982 he fought in the Lebanon War.

In 1987 he earned a degree in electronics and computer engineering from Tel Aviv University. He returned to the Air Force, commanded 117 Squadron from 1990 and was promoted to colonel in 1994. He then headed a weapons development department.

In 1997 he was chosen as Israel's first astronaut and began training in Houston in 1998. He flew on the Columbia mission STS-107, launched on January 16, 2003, and kept the Sabbath and ate kosher food in orbit. He and the six other crew members died on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle broke up on re-entry.

He was survived by his wife Rona and their 4 children. He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor after his death, and Ramon Airport is named for him and his son Assaf.