Journey of Hope - The Story of Ilan Ramon, Israel's First Astronaut

Journey of Hope by Alan D. Abbey

In 1995, President Bill Clinton announced that a future space shuttle mission would include an Israeli astronaut.  Seven years later, Colonel Ilan Ramon, a decorated Israeli Air Force pilot, son of a Holocaust survivor, and father of four joined six other crew members on the space shuttle Columbia, flight STS-107.  In doing so, he lives out a dream for himself, for Israel, and Jewish people worldwide.

This is the story of Ilan Ramon, Israel's First Astronaut.

“Columbia is lost; there are no survivors” 

President George W. Bush, February 1, 2003

Despite the tragedy, Ramon’s life stands as a beacon to those who despair of triumph in a difficult world. This book, whose creation began before the shuttle lifted off into space, chronicles Ramon’s journey from air force pilot to astronaut and includes NASA photographs, an interview with Ilan Ramon, articles about Israel’s space program, and much more.  It also contains a dramatic, minute-by-minute account of the moments before and after the flight's tragic ending.

Excerpt:  
"On the clear, warm morning of Thursday, January 16, 2003, Israel became the twenty-ninth country represented in space when Israeli Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon along with the rest of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-107, rocketed away from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Florida.  

Ilan's wife, Rona, their four children, and two family friends watched from NASA's launch control center, about three miles from the launch pad, along with the other astronauts' immediate family.  Rona was nervous."

53 pages, paperback