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Author Topic:   STS-133 / Discovery mission patch
Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 06-11-2010 06:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STS-133 / Discovery mission patch

The STS-133 mission patch is based upon sketches from the late artist Robert McCall; they were the final creations of his long and prodigious career.

In the foreground, a solitary orbiter ascends into a dark blue sky above a roiling fiery plume. A spray of stars surrounds the orbiter and a top lit crescent forms the background behind the ascent.

The mission number, STS-133, is emblazoned on the patch center, and crewmembers' names are listed on a sky-blue border around the scene.

The Shuttle Discovery is depicted ascending on a plume of flame as if it is just beginning a mission. However it is just the orbiter, without boosters or an external tank, as it would be at mission's end. This is to signify Discovery's completion of its operational life and the beginning of its new role as a symbol of NASA's and the nation's proud legacy in human spaceflight. collectSPACE's own Tim Gagnon and Jorge Cartes were selected by the crew to complete the patch after McCall's passing.

Space Emblem Art
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From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 06-11-2010 06:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Space Emblem Art   Click Here to Email Space Emblem Art     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim and Jorge, that you were chosen to pick up Robert McCall's torch just about sums up the esteem in which you are held in this field and among the astronauts. Bravo!

Tom
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From: New York
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posted 06-11-2010 08:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tom   Click Here to Email Tom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim, Jorge... CONGRATULATIONS!

NavySpaceFan
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From: Norfolk, VA
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posted 06-11-2010 08:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NavySpaceFan   Click Here to Email NavySpaceFan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As far as the patch goes, I like the design. It reminds me of STS-26, very simple and clean. As for Tim and Jorge, well done!!!!!

GoesTo11
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From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 06-11-2010 08:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
WOW. Congratulations, Tim and Jorge. I can only imagine what an honor it must have been to be chosen to create the final Shuttle patch. I commend you on the elegant simplicity and power of your design, and on the visual poetry of your homage to the work of the late, great Robert McCall.

...And the circle is closed.

Fezman92
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From: New Jersey, USA
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posted 06-11-2010 08:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fezman92   Click Here to Email Fezman92     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's nice. I'm not used to Robert McCall's work (never saw it before or if I did I didn't know it was his) so the image of the shuttle did not sit with me for a bit but I like it.

Guillaume
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From: Alsace / France
Registered: Apr 2010

posted 06-11-2010 09:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Guillaume   Click Here to Email Guillaume     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Am I the only one who sees a little yellow "T" and a little yellow "J" in the plume?

Henry Heatherbank
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From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 06-12-2010 02:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Henry Heatherbank     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I like the subtle links to the STS-1 patch as well, given the orbiter ascending against the backdrop of the Earth, and the use of the yellow/orange plume colours at the base of the patch. Not sure whether this was intended by McCall (not having seen the unfinished early sketches), or a tribute added by the crew when adapting the sketches after McCall's death.

Given the STS-1 patch, the STS-133 patch is a very befitting patch with which to bring the Shuttle program to a close.

Don't know about other people, but I didn't like the use of the same colours on the STS-131, 132 and 134 patches (even though they are all very good). Too visually similar when viewed together.

KSCartist
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From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 06-12-2010 04:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for all those who emailed me and to everyone for their comments above.

Back in 1973 when I began writing to astronauts asking if I might design their mission patch, the (always polite) reply was while they appreciated my interest, they had already chosen an artist to work with. Many times, that artist was Robert McCall.

Finally in 1982 I wrote to Mr. McCall to ask his advice. He replied with words that at the time seemed somewhat ambiguous because I was hoping for step-by-step instructions.

Over the years my appreciation for his advice and his work grew. So to have been asked by the crew to finish what Mr. McCall started was especially gratifying. Of course I couldn't have done it without the help of my little brother from Madrid.

We placed the large gold 4-pointed star in the design as a tribute to Mr. McCall and opposite it you'll see two small 4 pointed stars for our involvement. Oh and yes, there is a "T" & "J" in the plume.

Mike Z
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From: Ellicott City, Maryland
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 06-12-2010 12:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Z   Click Here to Email Mike Z     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim and Jorge, CONGRATULATIONS on yet another job well done! Now you are standing with a true legend. I'm sure Mr. McCall is looking down and smiling. This has to be the greatest honor for a space artist!!

alanh_7
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From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 06-12-2010 01:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for alanh_7   Click Here to Email alanh_7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I like the clean design. What a great honor being chosen to complete the patch. All three are artists I admire greatly.

Beautiful work.

KAPTEC
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Posts: 628
From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 06-13-2010 07:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you guys. Tim has told you all that I could say. Really it has been a great honour for us, and I'm proud to be chosen for it and for work with my big brother. Cheers Tim.

PowerCat
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From: Herington, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 06-13-2010 07:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for PowerCat   Click Here to Email PowerCat     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim and Jorge: I also send my congratulations on a wonderful patch design. Having seen a mural that Robert McCall completed at the Kansas Cosmosphere, you have taken his final thoughts and ideas and created a final memory of the shuttle program that will be long remembered.

Harald Kraenzel
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Posts: 312
From: Dinslaken,Germany
Registered: Nov 2005

posted 06-13-2010 04:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Harald Kraenzel   Click Here to Email Harald Kraenzel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim and Jorge, it must indeed be a great honor to design the STS-133 mission patch using the sketches made by the late Robert McCall. But finally it's the earnings for having designed some previous nice patches choosen by the astronauts.

Congratulation!

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-14-2010 03:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If a picture speaks a thousand words, this photo captures three decades of history...

Bill Hunt
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Posts: 404
From: Irvine, CA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 06-14-2010 04:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bill Hunt   Click Here to Email Bill Hunt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow... now THAT'S pretty damn cool. And let me just add my own congratulations, to Tim and Jorge for their wonderful work and for the honor they've been given, to those of everyone else here! I can't wait to have the patch in hand.

buckeyecal
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Posts: 90
From: soon to be Boise, ID USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 06-14-2010 04:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for buckeyecal   Click Here to Email buckeyecal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just noticed... dig the "throwback" polo shirts with the NASA worm logotype! NICE...(maybe they should pose in those old brown suits that John and Crip wore!)

328KF
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posted 06-14-2010 10:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
They should have all worn turtlenecks.

Great shot...

OV-105
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From: Ridgecrest, CA
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posted 06-21-2010 04:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I like the patch. I think the only thing I would have liked to see is Discovery under the STS-133 like Columbia on the STS-1 or drop the STS-133 and just have Discovery.

KSCartist
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Posts: 3034
From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 06-21-2010 06:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Some of the earlier drafts included the name of the orbiter but the crew decided to remove it in the event it changed.

KAPTEC
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From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 06-21-2010 11:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well... We tried to make the Earth as a big "D" And we got it. Here is hidden the ship name guys.

history in miniature
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From: Slatington, PA
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 06-26-2010 07:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for history in miniature   Click Here to Email history in miniature     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Tim and Jorge, congratulations.

lucspace
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Posts: 500
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 07-21-2010 03:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lucspace   Click Here to Email lucspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Utterly confused about on-again, off-again STS-135... but if it happens, the STS-133 patch will not be for the final flight. Or will it become the STS-135 patch because it was destined to be the final one?

Love the design, by the way!

hoorenz
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Posts: 1040
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 07-21-2010 03:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hoorenz   Click Here to Email hoorenz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
McCall's original sketch had the words 'final flight.' They were removed at the request of the crew. So I think they will stick to their patch! Jorge? Tim?

KSCartist
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From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 07-21-2010 03:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Luc (and everyone else who has contacted us), thanks for the kind words about the design.

The 133 patch is for that mission whenever it flies, whether it's the final flight or not.

If 135 is approved it will more than likely be the final flight and I'm sure that crew will have their own ideas how their patch should look.

KAPTEC
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From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 07-21-2010 05:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I wish to agree with my brother Tim in thanking all of you for your comments. And about a possible 135, I would like it will fly: so we can have another opportunity to be chosen for making its patch!

lucspace
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Posts: 500
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 08-02-2010 07:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lucspace   Click Here to Email lucspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If this is the official AB-Emblem version, I am not too thrilled about the outcome. Some unofficial ones currently on eBay are much closer to the actual artwork.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-03-2010 01:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
By way of Tim (thanks!) comes the actual AB Emblem (prototype) patch -- the patch posted by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex was in error (they also have the same art as below but posted the wrong image).

GACspaceguy
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Posts: 2913
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 08-03-2010 01:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just came to the realization that when the shuttle missions end so do these mini tapestries. Just wanted to thank all who have had a hand in designing and producing these art forms, they will be missed as much as the missions they represented.

KAPTEC
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Posts: 628
From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 08-16-2010 12:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just now I've got mine... And it is the same which Tim did show us: very beautiful final work. (Thank you so much Joseph!)

KSCartist
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Posts: 3034
From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 08-17-2010 01:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I visited KSC today and was dismayed to find that the patch KSC (still has) on their website is in fact the patch they offer in the store.

I checked the reverse and it is in fact an AB Emblem patch per the product number label.

I've contacted AB to express my concern. I'll post again when I have a response.

On edit: AB Emblem's response:

...some of the emblems went out with the "nice" shuttle on it initially, and all customers are aware of this and that all future orders are to have the stylized (McCall) shuttle.

KSCartist
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Posts: 3034
From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 11-09-2010 05:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Alan Bean stopped by the collectSPACE booth and gave me a critique of my STS-133 painting. He said that in his opinion the STS-133 patch was the best of the shuttle program. Due to the simplicity of the design and the juxtaposition of colors.

I mentioned to him that we had something in common. Jack Lousma asked McCall to create the STS-3 patch and McCall was unable to finish because of another commitment. Bean completed it for Lousma.

Talking art with Alan Bean: Priceless.

GoesTo11
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Posts: 1365
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 11-09-2010 10:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by KSCartist:
He said that in his opinion the STS-133 patch was the best of the shuttle program.

I wouldn't disagree. When STS-133 was released, it instantly became one of my favorites, and not just because of my appreciation of Bob McCall's work. Certainly my favorite patch since the early years. And congratulations...praise from Alan Bean is praise indeed.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-19-2010 11:21 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The STS-133/ULF5 payload patch:

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-19-2011 12:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STS-133 mission patch co-artist Jorge Cartes has produced this (unofficial) version of the insignia, reflecting Bowen's assignment to the crew.

Although it is assumed NASA will update the patch accordingly, the space agency has yet to confirm it is doing so.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-20-2011 07:45 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yesterday, I asked chief astronaut Peggy Whitson about the time constraints NASA faces supporting logistical changes before Steve Bowen can fly in less than six weeks. As she noted, a revised crew patch may not be possible.
I don't know if all of that is going to happen. The patch may not work, we'll see.

What we will do, we do have a plan for the EMU, of course. We have to have a plan to have an appropriate sized EMU onboard and that is being worked into the schedule.

Because of the logistics plan on this particular mission, the 133 crew was actually going to be eating station food for some portion of the mission anyway, so that is already there. There might have to be some specific changeout for other phases of flight, you know when they are not docked to the station. Or, if we don't have time to do that, we just won't do that. He'll just eat Tim's food.

Crew clothing will probably have to be changed out. Again, if push came to shove, we have a supply aboard station. So some of those things utilized from station stores if we needed to.

But obviously we're going to prioritize the training first, and then the hardware necessary to do the mission and then we'll get as much of the rest of the things as we can after that.

lucspace
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Posts: 500
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-20-2011 11:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for lucspace   Click Here to Email lucspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am sure an adapted patch will at least be worn on the launch and re-enty suits... couldn't imagine otherwise...

OV-105
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Posts: 899
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 01-21-2011 11:51 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I bet the AB looms are going like crazy right now making the new patches for NASA now. I bet we won't see them in the public's hand till after the flight.

Rick Mulheirn
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Posts: 4508
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 01-21-2011 04:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
AB Emblem were given instruction yesterday to produce an updated version of the STS-133 patch to reflect the change in personnel.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50006
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-25-2011 04:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Further to the above, AB Emblem reports:
With the launch of STS-133 scheduled for February 24, 2011, we are gearing up to produce the emblem and pin for this design with astronaut Bowen replacing Kopra.


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