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Ilan Ramon
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<p>Ilan Ramon was an <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israeli</a> <a href="/facts/Fighter_pilot/QvqJ7y6K">fighter pilot</a> and later the first Israeli <a href="/facts/Astronaut/HB1bd6Lz">astronaut</a>. He served as a <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a> payload specialist on <a href="/facts/STS-107/KccrjnNe">STS-107</a>, the fatal mission of <i><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Columbia/uF51RXWM">Columbia</a></i>, in which he and the six other crew members were killed when the spacecraft <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster/gsTyKuLM">disintegrated during re-entry</a>. At 48, Ramon was the oldest member of the crew. He is the only foreign recipient of the United States <a href="/facts/Congressional_Space_Medal_of_Honor/m63rYu3x">Congressional Space Medal of Honor</a>, which was awarded posthumously. </p>