Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope

Don't let this generically named special make you overlook a compelling story about Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon
I was fortunate to catch this moving program as it aired on PBS earlier this month in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Columbia shuttle disaster.

One quibble: the program needs a better title. The rather generic "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope" does little to alert the viewer that the narrative - while properly paying its respects to the entire, diverse crew - focuses on the moving personal story of Israeli fighter pilot-turned-astronaut Ilan Ramon (née Ilan Wolferman). With 135 total missions, US residents quickly turned blasé about each Shuttle blastoff, seeming only to pay attention when tragedy struck. But for Israel, Ramon's flight was a matter of great national pride, and his death a cause for great mourning.

But, while in the air, Ramon humbly grabs the stage to reveal his "mission within the mission" - showing a small Torah scroll he has carried into space. It's the tale of this scroll - how it survived the horrors of...

A touching untold story.
This is a wonderfully touching documentary. Blake Neely's moving score added to the experience. This film is a must-see for everyone!!

Very Moving and Informative
I, too, saw this on PBS and was very moved by it. I learned quite a bit by watching this movie. I didn't know anything about Ilan Ramon's family's history, and found it quite sad but also very interesting. I was also interested in all the training that astronauts have to go through. And though I've seen videos about that before, adding Ilan's background made it even more real to me. I am about to purchase a copy of this video for my son who has always been very interested in space exploration, even as a child. His children are also interested in it, and may like this film as well, although I don't know how much they know about the Holocaust yet, so that part might be a little disturbing to them.

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