Ilan Ramon, 48, was a colonel in the Israeli Air Force. He received a bachelor of science in electronics and computer engineering from the University of Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1987.

As a member of the Red Team, Ramon was the prime crew member for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment, a multispectral camera that measured small dust particles (dust aerosols) in the atmosphere over the Mediterranean and the Saharan coast of the Atlantic. He was also working on many other experiments.

Ramon was selected as a Payload Specialist by the Israeli Air Force in 1997 and approved by NASA in 1998. He reported for training at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston in July 1998. Colonel Ramon had accumulated over 3,000 flight hours on the A-4, Mirage III-C, and F-4, and over 1,000 flight hours on the F-16.

Born June 20,1954 in Tel Aviv, Israel, Ramon is survived by his wife Rona, and their four children. His parents reside in Beer Sheva, Israel.

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