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Author
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Topic: Soyuz TM-12 mission patch (1991 flight to Mir)
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hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-05-2012 07:33 AM
   
Recently, I acquired an original 1991 Soyuz TM-12/Juno patch. For the first time, I was able to compare it side by side with the fake version from Taiwan that has been doing the rounds for some years now. With a back side that was made to look like the original, the replica has been clearly created to mislead collectors. I was one of them. You can easily recognize the original though, when you know where to look. The original is missing the dash in the 'IO' in 'Juno'. Also, it has a very distinctive embroidery pattern in the Soviet flag.   |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-05-2012 08:09 AM
A related case, from the same manufacturer. It is easy to spot the fake patch side by side, but again, some effort was made to make the back look like the real thing. When you peel back the cloth, you find plastic...    |
MattJL
Member Posts: 57
From: New Jersey, US
Registered: May 2012
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posted 07-05-2012 05:07 PM
Out of curiosity, is the plastic there to give the fake patch some weight and thus make it similar in "feel" to the real one? |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-05-2012 05:27 PM
No, it is just the standard pvc-backing all modern patches have (unless you ask for something else). Definitely not something you would find in a 70's Soviet Zvezda patch. |
prontouk
Member Posts: 68
From: Scotland
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 09-19-2012 09:32 AM
Just picked up some patches in an auction in UK. Have a black Juno patch matching with original as above. Also got a light blue Juno patch, any info about where this one fits into TM-12 mission.It's got a sort of felt backing. Thanks.   |
carl walker
Member Posts: 360
From: Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 09-19-2012 10:59 AM
This light blue one was available to buy as merchandise from the organisers of the selection process for the Juno mission in 1988-89, to take the first UK astronaut into space. As a candidate, you were sent literature on the application process including a sheet with details of patches, T-shirts, etc. Needless to say, I didn't make the cut, but I still have my patch! |
prontouk
Member Posts: 68
From: Scotland
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 09-19-2012 11:16 AM
Thanks for that info Carl.The consignor I believe is is friends with Helen Sharman, so that may be where these patches came from originally. Always knew the answers could be found through this wonderful site . |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 09-19-2012 11:39 AM
These patches were also available commercially from their manufacturer, Stewart Aviation in Leicestershire. I always wondered what the purpose of this light blue patch was. Great to see that question answered!The black Soyuz TM-12 patch you show on your Flickr website indeed is a genuine Soviet patch. |
SleeBaudrons
Member Posts: 16
From: Scotland
Registered: Sep 2012
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posted 12-09-2012 05:01 PM
There is a third patch associated with this mission. It was listed in the Stewart Aviation catalogue for many years (no. 1248) but has recently been discontinued. I always wondered if it was a Stewart original, or a copy of some lesser known official patch. I've never seen photos of it being worn by any crew members, however. It is circular with a yellow border and has a black centre showing a swan flying up to the Mir. |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 12-10-2012 12:15 AM
The original design (left) and the patch by Stewart Aviation.It was designed in early 1991 by artist Svetlana Goncharenko, at the request of Vladimir Semenov, the head of a group of Soviet spaceflight enthusiasts that had formed just months before, calling themselves 'Videocosmos'. (They published a simple, typed up magazine called Videocosmos News, which we know today as Novosti Cosmonavtiki). Semenov tried to have the design adopted as an official patch for the mission, but he did not succeed. Maybe the fact that the Videocosmos logo was prominently placed at the bottom of the design, played a role... I am not sure why and at what time Stewart Aviation made the (souvenir) patch out of Goncharenko's design, but in 1993, Videocosmos/Novosti Cosmonavtiki and Stewart Aviation got involved together in the first Russian crew patches (still not official) through the work of Russian spaceflight enthusiast (and Novosti Cosmonavtiki reader) Vadim Molchanov. So, although not official, the design is interesting in light of the history of Russian crew patches in general, because it was the first of many private attempt to create official Soviet/Russian crew patches. |
SleeBaudrons
Member Posts: 16
From: Scotland
Registered: Sep 2012
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posted 12-10-2012 04:09 PM
Thanks Erik (Hoorenz), for the information. I've had the circular Juno patch for years without knowing anything of the background story. |
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