The space shuttle Columbia, carrying the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, will land on Saturday afternoon (Israel time) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
The landing of the space shuttle "Columbia" with astronaut Ilan Ramon on board, may be delayed by a day. NASA usually avoids landing the shuttle when it is raining or when visibility is limited. In that case, the shuttle is expected to remain in orbit around Earth for another day or two, until the weather permits a landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The ferry is prepared in advance for the possibility of postponement and is equipped with everything necessary to allow a longer stay than planned.
However, in the event that the weather in Florida continues to be difficult, NASA may decide to move the landing from Cape Canaveral in Florida to Edwards Base in California.
By the way, veteran astronauts admitted in interviews that adding a day or days to the flight is the wet dream of every astronaut, even those who have a chance to go up into space again, and certainly those for whom the experience is a one-time event.
Ramon and his team are scheduled to complete their mission on Saturday morning, and land at Cape Canaveral.
But the latest weather forecast speaks of the possibility of rain and clouds, and direction
that the shuttle lands without engines, NASA prefers to wait for clear skies. It is possible
That the landing will be postponed to Sunday, and if the weather does not improve even then, the landing will be carried out
At Andrews Airport in California.
The space shuttle landing may be delayed by a day
The landing of the space shuttle "Columbia" on board
Astronaut Ilan Ramon, may be rejected within a day.
Ramon and his team are scheduled to complete their mission on Saturday morning, and land at Cape Canaveral. But the latest weather forecast speaks of the possibility of rain and clouds, and since the shuttle lands without engines, NASA prefers to wait for clear skies. It is possible that the landing will be postponed to Sunday, and if even then the weather does not improve, the landing will be made at Andrews Airport in California.
The Columbia spacecraft carrying the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, was supposed to land on Saturday afternoon (Israel time) at the Kennedy Space Port in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Rona Ramon, Ilan Ramon's wife, said this morning on the IDF airwaves that during the current landing the astronauts also perform regular heart and blood pressure tests, and therefore they will exit the shuttle in a supine position. Only after about an hour will the family members be allowed to meet with them.
In an interview with CNN yesterday, Ramon said that after a week or more on the journey, he reached the goal he sought: to be one of the astronauts, nothing less and nothing more.
NASA is enthusiastic about the colorful reports that Ramon sends about the experiments. For example, in one of them he discovered how many fruit flies were still alive, which was good news not only for the scientists responsible for that experiment, but also for the garden spiders in the same cage who were supposed to eat them.
and the latest update of the trial results. Dr. Yoav Yair, one of the main research team of the experiment reports on the "Touching the Sky - Israel in Space" website of Metz.
"The long wait paid off and on lap number 176 Ilan Ramon managed to photograph a long plume of dust that was seen coming from the direction of West Africa towards the Atlantic Ocean. The images were transmitted to the ground and analyzed by the team of scientists in Maryland, who were very happy to finally receive clear, high-quality dust photographs."
"The decoding of the data from previous orbits continues, and in the recorded data of the nightly observations of the lightning storms, more sprites were discovered, with one of them appearing to be of enormous size.
In a few hours, an unusual and unplanned observation is planned, which our colleagues from NASA asked our experimental cameras to record: huge forest fires in Brazil. The fires in this case are self-initiated, i.e. those that are set on purpose at a known time, and will last for several hours. This is part of a joint study by the Brazilian government and NASA, designed to test the climatic effects of deforestation in the Amazon, which has been going on for more than 20 years and which has already eliminated a large part of the jungles there. Many airplanes and satellites participate in this research, and Ilan Ramon's additional pair of eyes, with Madex cameras, will add a new, and unexpected, layer to this scientific experiment. Fortunately, the flight controllers in Houston showed great flexibility and allowed us to make this special observation, far away from the Middle East."
On the 12th day of his space flight, and a few days before his return to Earth, the Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon sent an e-mail to the country's President Moshe Katsav, in which he told about his experiences and his excitement when he flew over Jerusalem.
In his e-mail, Col. Ramon described his great excitement for the flight and spoke briefly about the way of life on the ferry. "This morning - Saturday, January - 26 we flew over Israel, it was not the first time, but this time it was the best. From space I clearly saw Jerusalem and while looking at our capital I said Shema Israel". Ramon said that Israel has the best people, with excellent ability "and we only need the right leadership to bring the people of Israel to reach the sky".
According to Col. Ramon, he and the shuttle crew work almost 16 hours a day and conduct many international scientific experiments, "We work for the benefit of humanity and from space our whole world appears as one unit without borders, therefore, I want to call from above in space - let's work for peace and a better life For everyone in the world."
