Ramon's Personal Affects Returned To Family

Sections of a diary belonging to one of the seven astronauts killed last year when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas were found a few months ago and returned to his family, according to a published report.

The Jerusalem Post reported that sections of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon's diary were found in a Texas field with other debris.

The diary was submitted to the Israel Police for help in deciphering what was written, since the pages were written in Hebrew and some of the pages were full of holes, the newspaper reported.

Johnson Space Center spokesman James Hartsfield confirmed on Friday that any personal items found among the debris were returned to the astronauts' families.

``Out of respect for the privacy of the families we will not identify those items," he said.
 
A woman who answered the phone Friday at the Houston home of Ramon's widow said Rona Ramon didn't want to comment.

Columbia broke apart as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 1 after searing gases penetrated a gash in a wing. NASA doesn't expect to launch another shuttle until next fall at the earliest.

FMI: www.nasa.gov