Eytan Stibbe, born January 12, 1958 in Haifa, Israel, is a space tourist and went into space as part of Axiom Space-1 mission aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon in April 2022. He purchased his ticket into space and demonstrated Israeli technologies during his mission. He spent over 17 days in space before returning to Earth.
The first Israeli in space was Ilan Ramon who died when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry in 2003.
Rear (L-R): David Brown, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon;
Front (L-R): Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, William McCool
Mission patch
As with the Challenger disaster in 1986, I'm sure we all remember where we were when we heard the news about the Columbia disaster in February 2003. It was Columbia's 28th mission (STS-107), launched January 16, 2003, when a piece of foam broke off during the launch and damaged part of the thermal protective system on the leading edge of the left wing.
During re-entry, overheated gases were allowed into the wing, which ultimately led to the shuttle breaking apart and the loss of everyone on board. The people lost were Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialist David Brown, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (first Israeli astronaut). This was the first flight for McCool, Brown, Clark and Ramon.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board uncovered some interesting facts during their investigation. Apparently, NASA knew the crew was at risk but decided nothing could be done about it. They realized that they could have expedited the Atlantis lift-off scheduled March 1, to February 10. Columbia's crew had enough supplies and resources to last until February 15. Atlantis would have had a five day overlap to rescue the crew and return them to Earth. Columbia would be brought down into the ocean.
Ilan Ramon, NASA's first Israeli astronaut, blasted off in the Space Shuttle Columbia January 16, 2003. Unfortunately, it would be his only mission, since just 16 days later, Ramon perished along with six fellow astronauts when the Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry.
His mother and grandmother were holocaust survivors, having survived Auschwitz.
