was part of Columbia's seven-member science mission which took off on January 16, bringing a rare sense of celebration and pride to a country mired in more than two years of conflict with the Palestinians.

The launch of Ramon's space flight had virtually erased news of the country's woes, spreading space fever among Israelis embittered by a Palestinian uprising for statehood, a scandal-plagued national election and a domestic recession.

On Saturday, shocked Israelis wondered if fate could have anything worse in store for them as they tuned in to watch the disaster broadcast live on local television channels, instead of the landing which had been scheduled at 9:16 a.m. EST.

Their disbelief deepened as newscasters reported the shuttle crash was first heard over a town in Texas named Palestine, a bitter irony lost on no one.

"It's terrible because Israelis, my kids in school for instance, have been studying about space and the Israeli astronaut Ilan," said Ricky Ben-Or in Jerusalem.

Ramon's space mission was "one of the best things that has happened to us for a couple of years," he said. "We are a very depressed country at the moment...this is going to hit Israelis quite hard because it is very personal."

ISRAEL PRAYS FOR ASTRONAUTS

Israeli government officials said they were awaiting word of the fate of the Columbia crew before making further comment.

"The government and people of Israel are praying together with the peoples of the world for the safety of the astronauts on the shuttle Columbia," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said in a statement.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinian Authority was "shocked at the news of the tragedy. We sympathize with the families of the astronauts."

Ramon, 48, served as a fighter pilot in the Israeli air force, first as a cadet during the 1973 Middle East war. He viewed his space flight as the fulfillment of the dreams of many and dedicated it to Israelis and Jews worldwide.

The son of a Holocaust survivor, he was the youngest pilot in a team which bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Israel said the reactor was intended to develop nuclear weapons.

But it was a mission of peace which sealed Ramon's image as a true Israeli hero.

He was Israel's first citizen to head out to space, entrusted with several scientific projects on dust storms and a palm-sized Torah scroll kept safe by a Jewish boy in a German concentration camp during World War II.

Sharon had spoken to Ramon in a televised Earth-to-space exchange on January 22. The astronaut told Israelis to take heart and remember their "ability to survive despite everything from horrific periods of time."

RAMON FAMILY GATHERING TURNS TO HORROR

Family members and friends of the Ramon family had gathered together in Israel to watch his return, but instead tried to comfort one another through the horror of his fate.

His wife and four children had traveled to the United States for the duration of the mission.

"We are in shock and don't know what to do," Ramon's brother Gadi told Israel's Channel 10 television, choking back tears. "This was a dream come true for Ilan. He wrote me e-mails from the shuttle...and was literally on cloud nine."

Israelis stopped in their tracks during the Jewish sabbath to watch the news. One group which had gathered to play tennis in Tel Aviv crowded around television monitors and expressed disbelief.

"It was a celebration for the country and it is ending so tragically," Hezi Yitzhaki said. "An entire country was so proud of him. We are already in such a bad state."

They might have taken comfort in words Ramon himself had to reporters on the eve of his flight, repeated for broadcast on Saturday by Israel's Channel One television.

"The route to the target is more important than the target," Ramon said. "We are going to go for the target, but we enjoy the route as well."

(Additional reporting by Maia Ridberg in Tel Aviv)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------