Israel intends to send the second astronaut in its history to space next year, Israeli officials announced Monday.
Eytan Stibbe, an ex-fighter jet pilot at the Israel Air Force, is set to take off from Florida in late 2021 to reach the International Space Station.
There, he will spend some 200 hours — just over a week — conducting various scientific experiments for Israeli researchers.
Before the takeoff, he will go through some rigorous training at sites in the United States, Germany and Russia, the course expected to start in the immediate future.
A day of great national joy and pride. It's not every day that we announce an Israeli astronaut is going to space. Eytan Stibbe will fly with the blue and white flag his uniform, reminding us that the sky is no longer the limit!
— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) November 16, 2020
Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, died in 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia exploded on its return to Earth on Ramon’s first flight into space.
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{Matzav.com}
