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Author Topic:   STS-119 mission patch
MSS
Member

Posts: 633
From: Poland
Registered: May 2003

posted 07-23-2008 02:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MSS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STS-119 mision patch

Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for launch in February 2009, will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss element to the International Space Station. Air Force Col. Lee J. Archambault will command Discovery. Navy Cmdr. Dominic A. Antonelli will serve as the pilot. The STS-119 mission specialists are Joseph Acaba, Richard R. Arnold II, John L. Phillips and Steven R. Swanson.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-23-2008 03:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The shape seems to serve double duty, both as an array wing and an "A" (given the "A-Team" on this mission: Archambault, Antonelli, Acaba and Arnold).

Jay Chladek
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Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 07-23-2008 04:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is probably the most radical looking patch design I've ever seen. I LIKE it.

I love it when a patch comes together.

NavySpaceFan
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Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007

posted 07-23-2008 05:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NavySpaceFan   Click Here to Email NavySpaceFan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Shares a lot of elements from Col. Archambault's last mission (STS-117), looks great!

KSCartist
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Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 07-23-2008 06:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's a great design! After 125 missions it's harder and harder to come up with something new and interesting. The young lady who designed it did an outstanding job.

OV-105
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Posts: 816
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 07-23-2008 07:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I like it. It is a nice to see some other shapes to a patch.

KAPTEC
Member

Posts: 578
From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 07-24-2008 05:30 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That's a very nice and original patch. I like it too. Great job!

andrewcli
Member

Posts: 328
From: La Jolla, CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted 07-29-2008 11:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for andrewcli   Click Here to Email andrewcli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just spotted this on eBay:

KAPTEC
Member

Posts: 578
From: Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 07-30-2008 03:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KAPTEC   Click Here to Email KAPTEC     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
119, 15A and Wakata's name are in wrong position...

LoneStar Scouter
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Posts: 927
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 07-30-2008 01:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LoneStar Scouter   Click Here to Email LoneStar Scouter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I got the above patch out of a small Texas souvenir store in Houston. It is not AB Emblem. I did ask about the origin and they could not tell me anything regarding where it came from. That's all I know...

spaceman
Member

Posts: 1104
From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 08-23-2008 07:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman   Click Here to Email spaceman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Astronaut Ricky Arnold, mission specialist is seen wearing the STS-119 insignia in his official portrait.

Looks like a decal or paper print of some sort, and its just like the image featured at the beginning of this topic, so I would hold off on the eBay items for now.

pargoo
Member

Posts: 67
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2005

posted 09-04-2008 10:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for pargoo   Click Here to Email pargoo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Link to high-resolution version at NASA's Human Spaceflight website is now up
The shape of the STS-119/15A patch comes from the shape of a solar array viewed at an angle. The International Space Station (ISS), which is the destination of the mission, is placed accordingly in the center of the patch just below the gold astronaut symbol. The gold solar array of the ISS highlights the main cargo and task of STS-119/15A -- the installation of the S6 truss segment and deployment of S6's solar arrays, the last to be delivered to the ISS. Under the Japanese Kibo module, marked by a red circle, is the name of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who goes up to the ISS to serve as flight engineer representing JAXA.. The rest of the STS-119/15A crew members are denoted on the outer band of the patch. The 17 white stars on the patch represent, in the crew's words, "the enormous sacrifice the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia have given to our space program." The U.S. flag flowing into the Space Shuttle signifies the support the people of the United States have given our space program over the years, along with pride the U.S. astronauts have in representing the United States on this mission.

Harald Kraenzel
Member

Posts: 304
From: Dinslaken,Germany
Registered: Nov 2005

posted 09-05-2008 01:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Harald Kraenzel   Click Here to Email Harald Kraenzel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by andrewcli:
I just spotted this on eBay.
quote:
Originally posted by KAPTEC:
...and Wakata's name are in wrong position
quote:
Originally posted by pargoo:
Link to high-resolution version...
If you have a detailed look at the description you can read "Under the Japanese Kibo module, marked by a red circle, is the name of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who goes up to the ISS to serve as flight engineer representing JAXA."

In the picture shown on NASA's site the name WAKATA is at the bottom tab of that patch while the shown patch on eBay shows the name at the position as seen in the description.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-09-2009 11:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Although the patch found on eBay was not made by AB Emblem, NASA's preferred manufacturer for the patches worn by the astronauts, the earlier "Wakata" design can be found on (at least) the early shipped versions of AB Emblem's STS-119 lapel pin:

(Winco International has traditionally made NASA's lapel pins, though AB Emblem has also been producing pins for the agency since STS-122.)

It is unusual for an insignia design to be so late that NASA's official description of the emblem would be wrong, let alone that authorized manufacturers would have already begun production of pins and/or patches.

STS-119 mission specialist Steve Swanson explained the reason for the change in an interview with collectSPACE.

We didn't believe, once we saw the patch, that Koichi's name came out enough, like it wasn't visible enough. So, we decided we had to move it into the red [border] to keep it visible as much as we wanted.

We tried to put it by his Japanese logo there on the JEM [Japanese Experiment Module], that was the idea, to make it part of that, but it didn't seem to work out that way when we got done with it. So, we had to move it.

Swanson's 19 year old daughter, a graphics design major, created the STS-119 patch.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-03-2009 05:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Will the real AB Emblem patch please stand up?

Today, I was at Johnson Space Center to give a talk and took the opportunity to pick up an extra STS-119 patch from their exchange store. The patch I earlier bought off eBay (from Galactic Voyager) had been slightly damaged in transit so I figured I would replace it with the one I got today.

When I arrived back at my office, I discovered the two patches were different.

Galactic Voyager clearly advertised their patch (shown at right, above) as AB Emblem, and it shipped with an AB Emblem pin.

The JSC Exchange Store only stocks AB Emblem patches and indeed, it was packaged with an AB Emblem header card.

I bought the Galactic Voyager patch in Dec. 2008. Has the AB Emblem patch changed since then?

Voyager1975
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Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-03-2009 05:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just bought my STS-119 mission patch from Galactic Voyager and received it last week. I got mine through their website. I am trying to discover what the difference is between the two patches you have pictured here. Are you referring to the blue background such as the shade of blue used? It also looks like the gold 119 is thicker on the right patch and skinnier on the left one. I also see the backing is different on the between the two patches. Let me know if these are the things you are talking about. I will go look at my patch that I just got. Thanks!

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-03-2009 06:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you compare the two patches side by side (click on the images of the front of the patches to enlarge) you can see that the colors are slightly different (both patches were scanned at the same time side by side), the stitching is tighter on the Galactic Voyager patch, the letters are thinner on the JSC Exchange Store patch, and as mentioned, the backings are different.

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-03-2009 06:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well I checked my patch out and it's pretty strange. My patch the front of it looks like the one you have pictured to the left. The blue is of the darker shade and if you hold the patch away from the light the blue background get very dark. However the back of my patch looks exactly like the one on the right. It has a wax backing (or plastic?) but it is not all white like the one you have pictured on the left. So anyhow that is how mine looks. The question is now or at least one of the questions is which one are the STS-119 crew actually wearing?

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-03-2009 11:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Voyager1975:
...which one are the STS-119 crew actually wearing?
Based on the clearest photograph I could find of the patch as worn by the crew during their terminal countdown demonstration test (TCDT), it would appear they are wearing the "Galactic Voyager/AB Emblem" version.

Look at the left set of solar arrays. In the version sold by Galactic Voyager and the version worn on their suits, the yellow "bleeds" between the arrays. On the JSC Exchange Store/AB Emblem version, the arrays are clearly separated by blue.

But again, the TCDT was back in January, and it is certain that the JSC Exchange only stocks AB Emblem patches, so it would seem as though their patch underwent minor alterations in the time since then.

Voyager1975
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Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-04-2009 02:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I actually took a closer look at my STS-119 patch today. It is after all exactly like the one pictured on the right both the front and back.

It was a first harder for me to tell due to the blue background changing from the lighter blue when the light hits it to a very dark blue when it moves away from the light. However, I hardly have any yellow that "bleeds" in between the solar arrays so that part of it looks like the patch on the JSC patch on the left.

So, yeah, my patch is the same as the Galactic Voyager patch and as I said I bought it from them anyhow so obviously I would be the same.

So as of now there seems to be only these two slightly different versions. Although, Robert, you got your Galactic Voyager patch in Dec. 2008 and I got mine just last week so their stock of this patch at least has not changed over the last few months. So again very interesting with the JSC STS-119 patch find.

KSCartist
Member

Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 03-04-2009 07:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I got mine from The Space Store. It matches the one on the right above. But if the crew is wearing it then I'm satisfied.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-05-2009 08:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I spoke to AB Emblem today and was told that their patch has not changed since first being introduced last year.

I was at Space Center Houston today, where they had the STS-119 patch for sale and it matched the version sold by the JSC Exchange with the exception that its backing was like that of the Galactic Voyager-sourced patch.

As such, I have to assume that both patches are of AB Emblem manufacture and they are just variations in the normal manufacturing process.

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-05-2009 08:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Oh interesting! Great work Robert!!

Marwin2
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Posts: 139
From:
Registered: Oct 2006

posted 03-13-2009 04:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Marwin2   Click Here to Email Marwin2     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Who is STS-119 patch designer?

hoorenz
Member

Posts: 1031
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-13-2009 05:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hoorenz   Click Here to Email hoorenz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Mission specialist Steve Swanson's daughter:
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Swanson's 19 year old daughter, a graphics design major, created the STS-119 patch.

Harald Kraenzel
Member

Posts: 304
From: Dinslaken,Germany
Registered: Nov 2005

posted 03-17-2009 06:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Harald Kraenzel   Click Here to Email Harald Kraenzel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looks like the STS-119 astronauts wear both versions of the above shown patches. This picture shows Archambault during suitup and this one Arnold and here you can see Swanson.

So these two different looking patches seem to have been the result of different runs?

NavySpaceFan
Member

Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007

posted 03-17-2009 06:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NavySpaceFan   Click Here to Email NavySpaceFan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've seen a diamond shaped 15A payload emblem in the ISS control room, and I'm wondering if there is a high resolution image available.

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-17-2009 07:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Harald Kraenzel:
Looks like the STS-119 astronauts wear both versions of the above shown patches.
The STS-119 patches look exactly the same to me in all three pictures.

Harald Kraenzel
Member

Posts: 304
From: Dinslaken,Germany
Registered: Nov 2005

posted 03-18-2009 04:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Harald Kraenzel   Click Here to Email Harald Kraenzel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Voyager1975:
The STS-119 patches look exactly the same to me in all three pictures.
On a first look you might be correct but from my point of view a close look reveals that comparing the picture of Archambault and Swanson you can clearly see a difference.

The two parts of the left yellow marked solar array are separated by a gap.

The Archambault patch shows a real gap allowing the viewer to see the blue background as shown in the left patch above. If you now have a look at the Swanson patch you are not able to see the blue background where the gap is located as shown in the right patch.

KSCartist
Member

Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 03-18-2009 08:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A close inspection of the photos shows a difference in the lettering. Some letters are chopped off at the top.

Voyager1975
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Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-18-2009 09:29 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Anyone notice that there is red stitching that goes through the name Antonielli. I wonder why they came out that way? And yeah I see what you mean now Harald. Great observations!!

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-18-2009 10:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I believe that is how the patch was attached to his suit. Usually, the thread is hidden by the border of the patch, but the letters run up against the border on this one.

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-18-2009 11:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi Robert, the patch is actually attached onto the suit by velcro. As far as the red stitching going through the name Antonelli your right that there is not a large border on that side of the patch after the name so that is what happened then. But the only patch that is stitched onto the orange pressure suits is the NASA meatball logo patch the rest of the patches are velcroed on.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42984
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-18-2009 12:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am sorry, I should have been more clear: I should have said that the thread was what attached the patch to its "slave", which is what the velcro is attached to. You can see the white border of the "slave patch" behind the STS-119 patch...

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-18-2009 12:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Oh! I see what you mean! LOL That explains it. Then the "rough" velcro on the back of the patch is white and not orange like the soft velcro on the pressure suit? Always wondering about that!

SPACEFACTS
Member

Posts: 301
From: Germany
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 03-24-2009 11:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for SPACEFACTS   Click Here to Email SPACEFACTS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by NavySpaceFan:
I've seen a diamond shaped 15A payload emblem in the ISS control room

For hi-res, see SpaceFacts.

Voyager1975
Member

Posts: 188
From:
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 03-24-2009 01:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voyager1975   Click Here to Email Voyager1975     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yeah I have seen that as well. Ever since STS-119 mission began. There is no patch for it, at least I doubt it. I think it is just the insignia artwork.

NavySpaceFan
Member

Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007

posted 03-24-2009 01:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NavySpaceFan   Click Here to Email NavySpaceFan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by SPACEFACTS:
For hi-res, see SpaceFacts.
Perfect, thanks!!!!

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