collectSPACE - news - "Designing an uplifting end to NASA's space shuttle program"

Artist-supplied caption:

The patch shows an orbiter landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility, returning from its last voyage to low Earth orbit. The sunset shows an end of an era with the inscription "Et in perpetuum, frater, ave et vale" translated to "And into eternity, brother, hail and farewell". The flank of the patch shows a glimpse of the United States flag with seven stripes representing a typical Shuttle crew. The five stars represent the five orbiters, with Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour near the mid-body of the orbiter to symbolize their retirement. Two glowing stars appear near the aft of the orbiter to symbolize our lost vehicles Challenger and Columbia. The drag chute has been deployed and is starting to fall, showing that this is the orbiter's final wheel stop.