In Brief

Feb 10, 2003

<b>Space history ...<br>Experiments ...<br>Ramon burial ...</b>

Space history
WASHINGTON— The disintegration of Columbia on February 1 was the third deadly NASA accident, the second in the U.S. space agency’s 21-year-old space shuttle programme, which began when Columbia launched on April 12, 1981. On January 28, 1986, seven astronauts aboard the shuttle Challenger, including a school teacher, died.

The first deadly disaster in U.S. space exploration history occurred on January 27, 1967. Three astronauts on the Apollo 1 mission died when their space capsule caught fire during a simulated launch.

Experiments
washington — The crew of the space shuttle Columbia had completed all their experiments prior to their scheduled return to the Kennedy Space Centre.

The mission lasted 16 days and consisted of more than 80 experiments in orbit, predominantly among them experiments that were studying the effects of microgravity. Other studies were done on climate, the heart, the brain and cancer.

Ramon burial
JERUSALEM— Israel’s first astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, who perished with the Colombia, will be buried in the northern Israeli village of Nahalal today, Israeli authorities said Thursday. NASA said Ramon’s remains have been identified. Under Jewish law, a funeral is not possible unless the remains are found.

dpa

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