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Author
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Topic: NASA's Extravehicular Activity (EVA) insignia
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Cougar20
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posted 03-14-2004 03:44 PM
   
On the left shoulder of the EVA suits used by shuttle astronauts, there's a patch of an astronaut in motion in a circle. What is the name of this patch and why is it what does it symbolize? |
Carrie
Member Posts: 225
From: Syracuse, New York, USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 03-14-2004 09:14 PM
It's the patch worn by all spacewalking astronauts (and maybe cosmonauts, too, when they're wearing an American EVA suit... not sure on this). I'm also not sure what its official name is. It's a version of the famous "man as machine" drawing that I want to say DaVinci made? I'm sure the more informed others here can fill in the details, but that's the basic significance of the patch. |
lewarren
Member Posts: 269
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 03-14-2004 10:07 PM
I believe that the EVA astronaut patch is a take-off on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. This diagram and text are taken from an illustration of Vitruvius' theory by Leonardo da Vinci.Vitruvius, the architect, says in his work on architecture that the measurements of the human body are as follows that is that 4 fingers make 1 palm, and 4 palms make 1 foot, 6 palms make 1 cubit; 4 cubits make a man's height. And 4 cubits make one pace and 24 palms make a man. The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height. From the roots of his hair to the bottom of his chin is the tenth of a man's height; from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head is one eighth of his height; from the top of the breast to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man. From the nipples to the top of the head will be the fourth part of man. The greatest width of the shoulders contains in itself the fourth part of man. From the elbow to the tip of the hand will be the fifth part of a man; and from the elbow to the angle of the armpit will be the eighth part of man. The whole hand will be the tenth part of the man. The distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose and from the roots of the hair to the eyebrows is, in each case the same, and like the ear, a third of the face. SOURCE: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Vol. 1 (of a 2 vol. set in paperback) pp. 182-3, Dover, ISBN 0-486-22572-0. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 27042
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-14-2004 10:19 PM
From Space Mission Patches: Hamilton Sundstrand, the manufacturer of the Shuttle EVA (extravehicular activity, known colloquially as a "space walk") suits, designed this patch to be affixed to all of its space suits — since company logos are verboten on NASA equipment. This patch is also based on the da Vinci "Vitruvian Man" theme, but is updated for the space age: the central human figure is an astronaut suited for EVA. While this is a bit of a liberty with a classic image, it does address two modern concerns: the spacesuited figure is androgynous to reflect that female astronauts perform EVAs as well as male astronauts; and it presumably cushions delicate sensibilities from abuse. The patch is known simply as the "EVA" insignia. |
thump
Member Posts: 556
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-07-2004 06:17 PM
This may be "old" news, but the EVA patch has been updated. The new version now has five stars, vs. the old three. The stars represent each U.S. program that had a spacewalk, so the two new ones are of course space shuttle and ISS. I volunteer at the National Air and Space Museum and talk about living and working in space. Several weeks ago a gentleman stopped by who worked for the spacewalk team, and had given me the new version, in his words the patch was very new. |
Jacques van Oene
Member Posts: 704
From: Houten, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 05-08-2004 06:00 AM
NASA astronauts all have a blue and gold patch on the right shoulder of their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU), or space suits, when they venture outside the space shuttle on Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), or space walks. The theme of the patch is "Extending the Dimensions of Man." It is derived from the Leonardo da Vinci sketch entitled "The Dimensions of Man" and is meant to be an extension of the dimensional, medical and scientific aspects of the original work.It is fitting that the theme of the patch is associated with the original da Vinci work since the evolution of the Space Shuttle EMU from its Gemini, Apollo and Skylab origins represents the closest achievement of the ultimate EMU design goal -- that of providing EVA mobility limited not by hardware but by man's natural range. The three stars on the patch represent three historic milestones in extravehicular activity: America's first EVA by Ed White on Gemini IV; man's first steps on the lunar surface, made possible by the Apollo space suit worn by Neil Armstrong and the space walks of Pete Conrad and Joe Kerwin to repair, and eventually save, Skylab. The Space Shuttle EVA patch was conceived and designed by Fred Keune, manager of Hamilton Standard's Houston office at the start of the space shuttle program, and Walter J. Wick, M.D., Hamilton Standard's medical director. The Shuttle EMU suits first flew on STS-5, but on that flight there were some problems with the suits, so the spacewalk was cancelled. On the next flight, STS-6 the first EVA from the Space Shuttle took place, and on that flight the EVA patch first "flew" in space. |
benguttery
Member Posts: 542
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-08-2005 09:52 AM
This week I picked up an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) patch. This is the one with the yellow border worn by spacewalking astronauts on the shoulder of their spacesuit. The patch is an adaptation of Leonardo da Vinci's sketch from Proportional Study of Man in the Manner of Vitruvius, which also served as the inspiration for the Skylab Expedition 2 mission patch.The question: The number of stars on this patch has gone from 3 to 5. Doe anyone know the meaning behind this? Editor's note: Threads merged. |
sts205cdr
Member Posts: 528
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 04-08-2005 10:12 AM
From spacepatches.info: The three stars on the patch represent three historic milestones in extravehicular activity: America's first EVA by Ed White on Gemini IV; man's first steps on the lunar surface, made possible by the Apollo space suit worn by Neil Armstrong and the space walks of Pete Conrad and Joe Kerwin to repair, and eventually save, Skylab. Perhaps the two new stars represent two milestone STS EVAs. |
thump
Member Posts: 556
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004
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posted 08-03-2005 10:07 AM
I've noticed in pictures from the EVAs that the "new" five star version of the patch is being used. Is this the first mission that the five stars have emblazoned the EVA/EMU suits? |
snf13
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posted 08-03-2005 01:01 PM
This is this first flight (and first US EVA) since the patch was updated. From the EVA Program Office Website... The five stars on the patch represent five historic milestones in U. S. extravehicular activity: America's first EVA by Ed White on Gemini IV; man's first steps on the lunar surface, made possible by the Apollo space suit worn by Neil Armstrong; the space walks of Pete Conrad and Joe Kerwin to repair and eventually save Skylab; the first space shuttle EVA performed on STS-6 by Story Musgrave and Don Peterson; and the first International Space Station (ISS) EVA performed by Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly. |
prontouk
Member Posts: 51
From: Scotland
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 09-19-2012 10:50 AM
I acquired this patch which matches the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) patch first introduced during the STS-6 mission. It's not quite the same as an authentic one I found sold at auction. Mine has red fill in the chest area below the blue triangle, and the hands don't quite touch the red border. Is this a late reproduction or one sold at time of mission?  
On edit: Just found this same patch on an eBay store (mealticket2) - no need to answer, as I should have looked harder! |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1535
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-22-2013 06:04 AM
Ignoring the black or white backgrounds on these photos, does anyone know what is the correct color for the outside of this patch? Is it the lighter or darker yellow? Thank you. |
Spoon
Member Posts: 69
From: Carlisle, England
Registered: May 2006
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posted 06-11-2013 06:26 AM
In the case of the 'Vitruvian Man' EVA insignia created by Hamilton Sundstrand for use on the Shuttle EVA suits, I was wondering if there was a cloth patch that can be regarded as vintage to the emblems creation and first use?I know that it was first utilised during STS-5 (cancelled EVA), then during an actual EVA on STS-6, but is there such a patch (non-beta cloth), with the original 3 stars, which can be considered as 'collectable' with particular identifiers, such as cloth back or stitching patterns? Editor's note: Threads merged. |
Gonzo
Member Posts: 346
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 06-12-2013 05:31 AM
Yes, as posted above by prontouk, the 3-star version is/was available. The one I have is the 3-star version that I acquired in November, 1991, so I'd say it was vintage. Or pretty darn close at least. I am looking at it now after seeing this thread. I suppose I now need to find a 5-star version! quote:
Originally posted by garymilgrom:
Ignoring the black or white backgrounds on these photos, does anyone know what is the correct color for the outside of this patch?
It has the darker yellow border like the one on the left. The one on the right looks to be a sticker, which could have had a lighter yellow used in printing.
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