 | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | Space: Israel's First Astronaut Prepares for Space Trip">3. Space News | | | | | | | 
3. Space News | News submitted by: MIB
By Broward Liston -
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Israel's first astronaut said on Friday that he has no particular worries about security as he prepares to venture into space aboard a U.S. space shuttle in the coming weeks.
"It's going to be my first flight, hopefully not my last flight," said Ilan Ramon, an Israeli Air Force colonel and part of the crew for a 16-day science mission on shuttle Columbia.
Columbia's flight has been postponed several times, most recently on Tuesday, when the July 19 launch date was scratched after NASA announced engine cracks had been discovered on Columbia and sister shuttle Atlantis.
Tests on Columbia are to be wrapped up next week, and the launch could be rescheduled then. Ramon's comments came during a pre-flight news conference scheduled before the delay.
His presence on the crew at a time of heightened violence in the Middle East has raised questions about security for the shuttle and crew, and whether Columbia could become the target of saboteurs.
NASA has said that without a specific and credible threat, security for Columbia's launch will not differ significantly from launches since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Since then, many details of shuttle countdowns have been kept secret and the Cape Canaveral area has been protected by a no-fly zone around the launch pad.
Armored ships, fighter jets, helicopter gunships and ground forces have all been in evidence as part of security.
Ramon, speaking to reporters from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the astronauts train, said no one on the crew had expressed particular concerns about this flight.
"I think my presence in this crew, in this wonderful crew, is just another crewmember," Ramon said. He and fellow astronauts have discussed only "the usual risks after Sept. 11."
For their part, his fellow astronauts warmly welcome Ramon's presence.
"He's a hard charger, wonderfully warm and personable, and because of that, I think without question, across the board, we've all come to embrace and love Ilan," said shuttle pilot Willie McCool.
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=1147346
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