An Israeli astronaut by 2020? New deal with NASA makes it feasible

The dream of an Israeli in space is still alive, according to Menachem Kidron, director general of the Israel Space Agency.

“The loss of Ilan Ramon was of course a terrible tragedy that we still have not gotten over,” Kidron told The Times of Israel. “But hope remains eternal, and we believe it will happen sooner rather than later – hopefully by the end of the decade.”

That Israeli astronaut would most likely be on an American space vessel, thanks to a revamped agreement Kidron signed on behalf of the ISA Tuesday with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. The agreement was signed during the 66th Annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC), with hundreds of professionals in the space industry gathering in Jerusalem to discuss the latest in space exploration and technology.

“We have had an agreement with NASA since 1996, and we decided that now was the time to expand our cooperation with the US on space matters,” said Kidron. “The new agreement is very wide-ranging, and includes many possibilities for cooperation, from research to mechanics to deep-space exploration.”

That latter term does not mean that Israel will be sending up a manned spacecraft any time soon. Not that Israel couldn’t do it if it wanted to, said Kidron; the technology here is good enough for that. “We have other priorities, and it’s also very expensive. But there are many ways to do deep space exploration. For example, Israeli tech was used on the Curiosity, which has been exploring the surface of Mars.”

Indeed, the software used to control the Curiosity was developed at the Israeli branch of Siemens PLM. Siemens does nearly all its PLM (product lifecycle management) work in Israel, ensuring that devices like the Curiosity last as long as possible, and avoid problems and pitfalls that could disable them before their mission is up.

The ISA is also not going to be going to the moon. “We already have a group doing that, and SpaceIL is doing a wonderful job.” SpaceIL, the private group that is aiming for the $20 million prize in Google’s LunarX contest, “has an excellent chance of winning, although I would not venture to predict such a thing,” said Kidron.

If SpaceIL can do it, the ISA can too – but it has no desire to plant an Israeli flag on the moon. “Our areas of focus are different,” said Kidron. “We help promote international cooperation – half our operating budget is focused on that – as well as academics, industry, and the development of new technologies.”

‪Among the potential areas of cooperation enabled by the agreement are joint missions, personnel and scientific data exchanges, ground-based research facilities, space exploration and operations missions, joint workshops and meetings, scientific instruments aboard aircraft and spacecraft, sounding rocket and scientific balloon flights, space communications, educational outreach, and other spacecraft and space research platforms, said Kidron.

The goal of the agreement is to provide the framework for discussions of areas of cooperation between the agencies which could then lead to more specific agreements between the two sides. “We plan to be very proactive with this agreement,” said Kidron. “We have already set up meetings with NASA officials on specific projects and proposals, and we have a lot of good ideas for joint projects.”

The crowning achievement of an Israeli space program, of course, would be sending an astronaut into space – a feat that was already tried, but came to a tragic end when astronaut Ilan Ramon was killed in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded. “Obviously that was a tragedy for all Israelis, and traumatic for the ISA. But we still hope to achieve the goal of launching an Israeli into space. That is something that is covered by this agreement as well.”

The problem, said Kidron, is that the NASA does not currently have a craft that can transport a crew to space – but one is under construction, and It should be ready by 2018. “After that there will be a training period, in which we will choose an Israeli astronaut, male or female, to join the mission,” which will probably be a voyage to the International Space Station. “It’s a long shot, but we could have an Israeli astronaut up there by 2020.”