“Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” Airs Thursday, Jan 31

PBS Documentary centers on Ilan Ramon, Israel’s First Astronaut

by dan cohen

It was a Saturday morning when the phone rang.  It was my friend Bill on the other end, and in an urgent voice he said, “Go turn on the TV.”  When I heard that I got a chill. I immediately had an awful understanding why he called.  The Columbia had just blown up.  Like everyone, I couldn’t believe it, not again!

The Columbia accident is a searing moment in our nation’s history.  This week as we pause and remember the 10^th anniversary of Columbia, it is inevitable that we will think about what happened. Now that a decade has passed, it’s time to focus on the enduring legacy of the STS-107 crew, one the most diverse crews ever, and what they brought to each other, and to all of us.  I also discovered that there is a universal message of hope from their story.

The documentary “Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” centers on Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, a member of the Columbia crew.  Ramon had a “mission within the mission” to represent his country, and his faith.  For Ramon that message was the Holocaust.

If you’re a space enthusiast like me, then you most likely know stories about personal items astronauts carry to space to try to bridge the gap with loved ones and people left behind on earth.  When I first learned of the story about the little Torah scroll that Ilan Ramon carried to space, I thought “What a powerful new way to tell a Holocaust story to a new generation.”  An artifact from a Nazi concentration camp, where a little boy made a promise to a dying Rabbi to always tell the world what happened in Bergen-Belsen.  The Rabbi gave the scroll to the boy after his secret Bar Mitzvah in the camp.  The boy later grew up to be a scientist supporting Ramon during the mission.  Ramon, the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, felt that promise deep in his heart, and he carried it with him to space.

As I first started to make the documentary, I thought I was telling the story of the scroll, but then I peeled back the layers and discovered it was more than that. Because of their different backgrounds, and who they were, Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, David Brown, Ilan Ramon, and Michael Anderson demonstrated to the world what happens when we all work together for the greater good.  Yet woven around them in such a huge contrast is the story of Bergen-Belsen threaded through the little scroll.

Watch carefully this week during the scene in the film when Ramon allows the tiny scroll to float in front of him in space. The enormity of that moment weaves the story together, an incredible twist of fate.

“Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” is a journey of the human spirit, the legacy of the STS-107 crew, and the reason we venture off into space, to know more about ourselves. In today’s fractious world, perhaps their enduring message for all of us is hope.

“Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” premieres on PBS Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 at 9 pm ET. For local airdates and times, visit http://www.missionofhopemovie.com. Follow @ColumbiaMOH on Twitter and join a virtual viewing party during the premiere by using the hashtag #ColumbiaMOH

Dan Cohen, Director of “Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope,” is a six-time Emmy Award winning veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is the founder of the documentary film and production company West Street Productions. Storytelling is Dan’s passion, and “Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” is a seven-year labor of love. Shot on locations from Jerusalem to Washington, D.C. and executive produced by Tom Hanks, the documentary has won “Best Film” honors five times in festivals around the country and Hong Kong.

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