posted 07-21-2020 01:19 AM               

The mission of the site is to share the human interest stories about spaceflight and space exploration represented by mission patches in my personal collection and to showcase the artists and the artistry of the patches themselves. This initial launch focuses on Project Apollo and the uncrewed and crewed tests and spaceflights, starting with AS-103 through Apollo 11. The other Apollo missions will be launched later.

True to most space projects, there will be many launches until my entire patch collection and the stories that go with them have achieved liftoff. I will post updates here and to my social media channels.

posted 09-20-2020 04:02 PM               

My goal is to complete the research, curation and publication of Apollo patches and stories by year end, estimating another 130 patches will be published to my website, to include many patches designed by Tim Gagnon that relate to Apollo (including commemorative mission, spirit and armed services), first lunar landing commemorative and anniversary patches, mission control, contractor and crew related support programs, astronaut recognition and memorial patches and Snoopy — the stories of human spaceflight and exploration would not be complete if it did not include the story of Snoopy.

Starting in 2021, I will skip ahead in the timeline to present day and focus on the latest human spaceflight programs, including SpaceX, Boeing and others, then shift back to Skylab, Project Mercury and Project Gemini.

My collection is quite extensive, so it will take 3+ years to publish all the patches and the human interest stories related to them.

I am a collector of patches related to human spaceflight and space exploration, both rooted in fact and fiction. I seek patches that can assist with telling a human interest story, then I collect variations of the same patch because I admired the creative interpretation, variation and artistry. Collecting authenticate vintage patches is nice, and I am sometimes tempted because of the rarity of a patch, but I am mostly persuaded by the story behind the patch. The story is usually more important to me than the patch itself, but the patch is what creates engagement, inspires interest, and provides the visual aid that drives a narrative — the classic children's book format. Plus, I love the artwork, symbolism and imagination of designers, so beauty and meaning are important factors that contribute to my purchase decision. I bought a set of SpaceX Iridium Next patches solely because I love the artwork and shapes.

I launched my site two months ago today. At present, I am currently only promoting my website on this forum, and in the last two months, there have been 347 unique visitors to my site from 23 countries. I am hoping this forum will keep me honest, so call me out on any inaccuracies. I welcome others contributing to my stories. Each patch has a share button that uniquely references that patch, so use it to email me a comment or copy the link and post it here along with a comment. I welcome collaboration.

After I have published all Apollo related stories and patches, I will be promoting my site to other forums. If you have recommendations for other suitable forums, please make a recommendation.

In conclusion, I have created a fictitious spaceflight of the spacecraft "Urania" to represent the mission and journey of my website. I will be working to design my first mission insignia, and will definitely share my thoughts and drafts with you all.

posted 07-21-2021 01:50 PM               

More than half of all visitors were referred by collectSPACE, so I want to thank this online community for your support and valuable insight into the patches I am publishing.

I have acquired some unique vintage patches that I have not seen referenced anywhere. I am looking forward to sharing them with you soon.

posted 11-02-2021 12:04 PM               

My focus for the rest of 2021 is to complete the publishing of the remaining patches and stories for Project Apollo (15-20 and related commemoratives), comprising 100+ additional patches.