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Author
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Topic: STS-134 unofficial "Wives" mission patch
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Kevin T. Randall
Member Posts: 1082
From: Chesham, Bucks UK
Registered: Dec 2008
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posted 05-05-2011 07:07 AM
   
I have just seen this patch listed on eBay (No. 110683423311). I've been told by the seller that it is 4 1/2" across, which is slightly smaller than the official AB Emblem STS-134 patch at 4 3/4" across.I don't know how many have been made.  |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-05-2011 07:49 AM
A fun idea but it doesn't go far enough. The atomic nucleus, measurement experiement and ISS should be replaced by items germane to the wives' lives or activities during the mission. |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 05-05-2011 11:13 AM
The question is was this design produced/approved by the crew members? |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 05-05-2011 11:18 AM
AB Emblem confirms they did not make these for the crew. |
J.L
Member Posts: 674
From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA
Registered: May 2005
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posted 05-05-2011 12:14 PM
I am pretty confident they were produced by Tom Foley. |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 05-08-2011 03:56 PM
I don't really see how this patch can be seem as historically significant unless it was created by/for the crew themselves.Otherwise it's just someone stealing the artwork created for the original patch, changing the names and having a patch produced. Leaving aside the moral/legal issue of stealing someone else's artwork, anyone could do this at any time for any mission and produce anything from 50 to 500 hundred examples for a few dollars a patch. If you like the idea you can obviously buy one but the patch has no association with NASA, the crew, or their wives. It's not a 'significant' collectible, just a 'fantasy' patch like any other. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-11-2011 01:09 PM
To confirm, this patch was indeed the original idea of Tom Foley of Space World USA. Unlike the earlier Skylab 2 or Soyuz TMA-13 wives patches, it was created as a souvenir for the public, without the knowledge or involvement of the STS-134 crew (or their wives). According to his wife, Foley saw the public's interest in the commander's spouse and felt that there should be a patch for all the crew's wives. As of earlier today (May 11), the patch was available through the Foleys' Merritt Island store. |
Tom
Member Posts: 1597
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 05-16-2011 06:51 PM
Florida Today reports about the "wives" patch. There's an official mission patch for each space shuttle flight. But, for Endeavour's final launch, there will be an unofficial shuttle patch honoring the wives of the six-man crew.The patch, developed by Tom and Jo Foley of Spaceworld-USA on Merritt Island, is virtually identical to the official NASA patch, except that, instead of including the astronauts' last name, it has their wives' first names... Among the locations selling the 4-inch patch are Spaceworld-USA at 3700 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island, and the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum at 4 Main St. in downtown Titusville. U.S. Space Walk of Fame Chief of Staff Karan Conklin said, at a price of less than $6 apiece (or less than $11 packaged with the official mission patch), the wives' patch is a relatively inexpensive piece of memorabilia that has the potential to become a collectible. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-16-2011 10:33 PM
(or less than $11 packaged with the official mission patch) Note, per the Florida Today photo, the "official mission patch" is not the official patch as produced by AB Emblem for NASA but the Foleys' replica. |
mooncollector
Member Posts: 104
From: Alabama, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 06-02-2011 08:59 PM
Got mine today and I was surprised that it is ever-so-slightly bigger (maybe a millimeter or two) than the A-B "official" crew version which I have, and that it is definitely better in eye appeal and craftsmanship. The colors look brighter and clearer. Whoever made this did a good job. |
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