Update of the fourth day of the journey - 18/1
Update for 13:20
The following ferry crossings over Israel
Date – – – – from hour – – – to hour — – for duration
18/01/2003 13:23:04 13:31:58 00:08:53
18/01/2003 14:57:42 15:07:03 00:09:21
18/01/2003 16:33:00 16:40:24 00:07:24
STS, 107 at Tel Aviv, Israel
19/01/2003 07:07:10 07:12:35 00:05:25
19/01/2003 08:39:33 08:48:35 00:09:02
19/01/2003 10:14:18 10:23:15 00:08:57
19/01/2003 11:49:37 11:58:12 00:08:34
19/01/2003 13:24:28 13:33:34 00:09:05
19/01/2003 14:59:08 15:08:16 00:09:07
19/01/2003 16:35:20 16:40:23 00:05:02
The United States Space Agency published yesterday (Friday) the third report on the Columbia shuttle flight, according to which the astronauts began performing scientific experiments in space. In the second report on the flight published yesterday, it was stated that the flight continues as a series and all the systems on the shuttle work without a fault.
The astronauts prepared the "Space Father" laboratory for the start of the scientific experiments. Columbia, with the first Israeli astronaut, Lt. Col. Ilan Ramon, completed the eighth lap around the Earth yesterday. Ramon has started preparations for the scientific experiments scheduled for him in Israel, and he is supposed to work on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. Those who listened to NASA TV, (link from the main page of Yedan Ilan Ramon) could hear Ramon's voice shortly after eight in the evening reporting on the end of an experiment of the European Space Agency. Ramon works according to Houston time and therefore his broadcasts are received by us in the evening and at night.
"We are having a lot of fun and are starting to organize the shuttle so that we can move around freely and start working," said spacecraft commander Rick Husband, at the end of the first day of the flight.
The astronauts operated two Israeli cameras to measure the desert dust in the atmosphere above the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The scientists from Tel Aviv University want to learn how the dust plumes move and affect the atmosphere.
"I wish success to the State of Israel" said Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut: "We just passed over Jerusalem".
Besides eight "space spiders", a species of spider known to weave perfect webs, Columbia carries ants, carpenter bees, fish embryos, silkworms, mealworms and rats. All report that they are in good condition.
Also in the spaceship is an American hybrid of a miniature rose and the Asian rice flower, flax roots, tomato seeds and wildflowers, bread for growing mold, crystals, bacteria, fungi and prostate cancer cells. Almost all animals, seeds and bread are part of student experiments. The flowers, on the other hand, can build a new scent for a big business.
(See the interesting experiments of flight 107 - Ramon's flight). International Flavors & Fragrances seeks to better understand how light, water and food, and the absence of gravity, define a flower's fragrance and how flowers react with each other. A video broadcast from the mini-greenhouse on the Columbia on Friday showed the petals of the red flower still closed.
During John Glenn's shuttle flight in 1998, a miniature rose grew in orbit for the first time and IFF scientists were able to detect that space had changed the fragrance. The space scent eventually became a perfume known as ZEN and a body spray known as Impulse.
Columbia is also equipped with a small airtight chamber in which it will be possible to light a fire, measure the ozone and cool and even freeze for the purpose of preserving scientific samples, including blood, urine and saliva collected by some of the astronauts for medical tests. "It's one of the less glamorous aspects of spaceflight." said the project's chief scientist, John Charles, with a smile.
And back to Ilan Ramon himself, Gali Tshal news reported that late at night Ramon was supposed to celebrate Kiddush over a glass of grape juice. In an interview with a newspaper in Houston, Ramon stated that he is secular. He noted that following consultation with rabbis, it was decided that because the sun rises and sets every 90 minutes, the Kiddush will be performed according to Houston time. However, Ramon will also work during Shabbat.
