posted 09-26-2006 10:15 PM            

STS-118 / Endeavour mission patch

posted 09-28-2006 07:08 AM               

But did you notice the seven stars in the flag seem to come from the torch? I'll bet that it illustrates the connection between the 51-L crew and the seven members of this crew.

The only illustration I'm not satisfied with is the ISS. I'm willing to bet that the person who helped design STS-92 designed this one. The ISS is such a beautiful spacecraft that a silhouette doesn't do it justice.

posted 09-28-2006 03:02 PM               

One thing that is a pity in my opinion - and this is something lots of shuttle patches suffer from - is that the depiction of the orbiter is quite bland. In this patch, some lines do not make a lot of sense and it would make for a more exciting picture if the payload bay doors would be open and there would be some perspective in the vehicle.

posted 10-05-2006 05:02 PM               

Here is the info behind the patch:

The STS-118 patch represents Space Shuttle Endeavour on its mission to help complete the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS), and symbolizes the pursuit of knowledge through space exploration.

The flight will accomplish its ISS 13A.1 assembly tasks through a series of spacewalks, robotic operations, logistics transfers, and the exchange of one of the three long-duration expedition crew members. On the patch, the top of the gold astronaut symbol overlays the starboard S-5 truss segment, highlighting its installation during the mission.

The flame of knowledge represents the importance of education, and honors teachers and students everywhere. The seven white stars and the red maple leaf signify the American and Canadian crew members flying aboard Endeavour.

posted 05-03-2007 12:26 PM               

NASA astronaut and Air Force Col. Benjamin Alvin Drew will join the crew of the STS-118 space shuttle mission, targeted for launch Aug. 9.

posted 05-20-2007 01:35 PM               

Since we are the official contractor for NASA they usually notify us of up coming changes well in advance. On the STS-118 patch it will be a new one. We don't have a date yet as to when they will be available.

posted 07-12-2007 04:20 PM               

It is in the shape of the 'torch of knowledge' and it's taken right off the crew patch. This is to symbolize NASA's drive for discovery. It also represents the NASA educator astronaut corps within the astronaut group and also Barbara Morgan, flying on her flight.

You can see the apple at the base of the torch, and that's in memory of our first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.

The words along the torch handle, "Utilization" and "Logistics" represent the outfitting of the ISS as we continue to grow. Together they represent the SPACEHAB module that is being used to transfer all of this hardware. Being along the handle, they kind of represent also the support structure to the mission since 13A.1 has always been viewed as a resupply and science mission, even though we will also be adding to the assembly of ISS.

The ESP-3 is at top and bolded showing its significance for the ORUs we are flying to resupply failures on orbit and also carrying up the CMG.

Then you have our designation, 13A.1 and the three large stars you see represent the expedition crew members, two Russians and one American crew member.

The space station symbol is again taken from the flight crew patch and it's flying above the Earth, and prominent in the image is the S5 area, where we will be installing that S5 truss to continue the assembly of ISS.

The remaining stars in the sky represent the shuttle crew members involved with the mission.

Finally, the Moon and Mars at the top left of the patch represent NASA's future goals as we learn from our experiences here in low Earth orbit.

posted 09-05-2023 02:25 PM               

Paul Fjeld, who worked with the respective missions' astronauts to design the STS-90, STS-100 and Expedition 35 crew patches, also created the first version of the STS-118 patch — a version that never flew.

As Fjeld explains on his website:

By his next mission, Scott Parazynski had me on speed dial and I had Dave [Williams] on a crew again. This time Scott had several ideas for a design that included a flag, a neat angle on the shuttle — I suggested the re-entry configuration — and some kind of educational element because Barbara Morgon, the teacher and now fully trained astronaut, was going to fulfill the promise of Christa McAuliffe. I came up with a flame of knowledge as the center of a Keplerian orbital diagram with Columbia re-entering.

The day after the design was approved, Columbia re-entered for the last time, killing its crew. I sent my deepest condolences to Scott and the crew, who were pretty devastated, and knew that if STS-118 ever flew, it would not be with a design of mine. I was right.