Template:POTD/2023-06-20

Picture of the day

Ilan Ramon (June 20, 1954 – February 1, 2003) was an Israeli fighter pilot and later the first Israeli astronaut. Ramon was a Space Shuttle payload specialist on STS-107, the final mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, in which he and the six other crew members were killed when the spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry. At the age of 48, he was the oldest member of the crew. Ramon is the only foreign recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which he was awarded posthumously by the United States Congress. This official NASA portrait of Ramon, wearing an Advanced Crew Escape Suit, was taken in 2001.Photograph credit: NASA