NASA authorities have told Israeli officials that remains of
four of the astronauts killed in the Columbia shuttle
disaster on Shabbos had been found among the debris that fell
to the ground by Tuesday. NASA believes that the remains of
two of the astronauts can be identified relatively quickly,
but that DNA examinations of the remains will likely take
some two weeks. NASA does have DNA samples of all the
astronauts on file.
IDF Lieutenant Colonel Rabbi Zvi Blake, a representative of
the military rabbinate, arrived late Monday at Barksdale Air
Force Base near Shreveport, Louisiana, where the astronauts'
remains were being collected, in order to help identify those
of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. On Sunday, NASA disclosed
for the first time that body parts had been found.
It was unusual for NASA to allow an Israeli expert to
participate in the examination and identification process of
the body parts, but IDF Major General Ivri-Sukenik said that
he had explained to the NASA representatives the significance
that Israel and the Jewish religion place on the
identification of the body parts of astronaut Ilan Ramon and
his burial in Israel.
NASA officials said Monday that damage to the shuttle's
thermal tiles during liftoff is the leading theory in the
investigation into what caused the shuttle to fall apart on
re-entry into Earth's atmosphere last Shabbos. A 125-
kilogram, 51-centimeter (275 pound, 20 inch) fragment of foam
insulation that broke off from a big fuel tank during the
launch may have damaged the heat tiles that keep the ship
from burning up during re-entry into the atmosphere. The
incident was investigated thoroughly and a report issued four
days before the re-entry concluded that there was "no burn-
through and no safety-of-flight issue."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Israel's space
aspirations were not over and Israel hoped to send more
astronauts into space.
