Ilan Ramon

ILAN RAMON AND THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA
STATE MEDAL 5763/2003

The Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on January 16, 2003 with seven astronauts on board, including Colonel Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Ilan Ramon was born in Ramat Gan, the son of Holocaust survivors. He was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force and participated in the bombing of the nuclear plant in Iraq. He loved the sciences and aeronautics. According to his colleagues in the Air Force, as a pilot he was a “natural”. He was married to Rona and the father of four children. Ramon took a number of meaningful items with him into space, including a Torah scroll from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The Jewish world watched with pride as Ilan described the symbolic significance of the Torah scroll floating along beside him in space. On February 1, 2003, a mere 16 minutes prior to landing, the shuttle disintegrated above Texas during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and all seven crew members were lost. The disaster was due to hot gases that penetrated and destroyed the internal wing structure of the shuttle. The people of Israel, along with millions around the globe, bow their heads in memory of the seven astronauts who perished.

Obverse: The image of Ilan Ramon dressed in his spacesuit; the emblem of the Israeli Space Agency to the right and the Israeli Air Force emblem to the left; the inscription “COL. ILAN RAMON 1954-2003 in English to the left of the image and in Hebrew along the right border; the words “ISRAEL’S FIRST ASTRONAUT” inscribed along the left border in Hebrew and along the lower border in English.

Reverse: The image of the space shuttle with the Earth in the background; the names of the seven astronauts and the number of the flight “STS 107” along the wings of the shuttle; the verse “they were swifter than eagles…” and the source “SAM 2 1:21 in Hebrew and English; along the border of the medal, from left to right, the names of the seven astronauts. An asterisk appears to the right of each name, while a Star of David appears to the right of Ilan Ramon’s name.

Edge: State emblem with the words "STATE OF ISRAEL" inscribed in Hebrew on the right and in English on the left, serial number and metal.

Designer: Aharon Shevo.

Engraving: Tidhar Dagan.

Mint: Bronze, Silver and Gold 30.5mm medals: Bulgaria. Gold 50mm: The Government Mint.