BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Israel -- The remains of Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, arrived home Monday in a somber ceremony in a military hangar outside Tel Aviv.
Ramon, a 48-year-old air force colonel, died with six other astronauts aboard NASA's Columbia space shuttle, which splintered in a bright ball of flame as it came down through the Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 1, just minutes from landing.
Israelis watched the shuttle's liftoff with pride. Ramon's flight offered a bit of cheer during difficult days. Coverage of the 16-day mission even bumped Israel's battle with the Palestinians and a tedious election campaign off front pages and led top of the hour newscasts.
At the airport ceremony, Ramon's teenage son Assaf wore one of his father's NASA flight jackets and, fighting back tears, wrapped an arm around a younger brother. Ramon's wife, Rona, held her 5-year-old daughter in her lap.
Eight air force colonels carried the flag-draped coffin into the hangar.
Wearing a black skullcap and reading glasses, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon offered condolences to the family. Speaking before an audience of senior army commanders, diplomats and fighter pilots, Sharon praised Ramon's courage and said he was a symbol of Israel.
"We never imagined your return home would be this way," Sharon said. "His boyish face ... dug deep into our souls. He represented Israel as we like to see it. Our heart goes out to the other families and to the American people."
Also in the crowd were 15 NASA representatives and a few Israeli high school students who designed an experiment that Ramon carried aboard the shuttle to examine how near zero-gravity affects the growth of crystals.
Ramon is to be buried in a private ceremony Tuesday in a tree-locked cemetery in northern Israel.
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