posted 08-24-2015 01:11 PM               

'8 Days or Bust' +50 years: Gemini 5 made history with first crew mission patch

...the Gemini 5 mission's planned length was more than just an attempt at a record but a test itself, designed to show that astronauts could survive the time needed for a trip to the moon and back.

Cooper and Conrad chose to underline that particular goal while setting yet another American first in space.

Sewn to the right chest of each of their spacesuits was a cloth emblem depicting a Conestoga wagon. Embroidered in red lettering was their mission designation ("Gemini 5") and their names. And hidden under a thin piece of hastily-added cloth was the inscription, "8 Days of Bust."

Cooper and Conrad were sporting the first-ever astronaut-designed space mission patch.

posted 08-25-2015 10:38 AM               

Conrad shared in a letter to John Bisney (cS: Go4Launch):

...the patches were removed from the suit sometime after recovery and prior to the arrival back in Houston. We did not see them after we got back on the (recovery) ship, and they were never returned to us; I'm assuming they were stolen.

posted 08-25-2015 08:51 PM               

That said, by Cooper's own admission, his "Leap of Faith" co-author took liberties with what Cooper told him to build out the stories in the book, so whether hundreds were actually ever produced is open to question.

posted 08-25-2015 09:45 PM               

This second run also came in two otherwise-identical versions: some included the motto (as the top photo in Robert's story shows); the rest did not, illustrating the practical result of Webb’s memo. A photo of one (with motto) was used in a 1968 Life magazine article, the first widespread publicity NASA crew patches received.

Examples of these from Cooper’s and Conrad’s personal collections were sold privately or at auctions in the 1990s (far more with the motto than without). In some cases, each astronaut identified them as carried on the flight, though that at least raises the question of why “blank” versions weren’t used on the suits if they’d been made during the week between Webb’s memo and launch (there was no reason for the crew have had any “blank” ones made before his memo).

According to suit tech Al Rochford, he could have replaced patches even the day before the flight. Also, Webb's memo had left an out, conceding it might not be possible to get them remade in time. Finally, why didn’t the astronauts wear any version of their special patch on their jumpsuits aboard USS Lake Champlain, had they been available?

Conrad also did not mention any patches when he described looking through his PPK during the flight, although he did mention bringing some US flags.

Conrad, who didn’t get his patch returned, would have had an incentive to get at least one more made if no more originals existed. Indeed, both men later wore examples from the second batch (with the motto) on their flight jackets, not “originals.”

In addition, by ordering a second batch later (some without the motto) the crewmen would have matching sets depicting the patches both as they originally intended, and as worn on the flight.

Finally, both suit patches had clear differences between them. Cooper’s was embroidered through a layer of white material that tended to bulge, while Conrad’s patch included two additional horizontal lines on the wagon’s cask. The front wagon wheel spokes were also slightly different between the two flight patches. Neither crewman could explain the discrepancies, but I think it's because just these two were made individually. Cooper told me perhaps about ten "originals" were made, partly because NASA approval was by no means certain, but no matching patches have ever surfaced. Perhaps they were the samples the patch company first made, but that's just speculation.

posted 08-25-2015 10:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
AB Emblem, in conjunction with Gene Dorr, produced an excellent replica of the original Gemini 5 patch, complete with cloth sewn over the "8 Days or Bust."

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posted 08-26-2015 09:05 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
AB Emblem, in conjunction with Gene Dorr, produced an excellent replica of the original Gemini 5 patch, complete with cloth sewn over the "8 Days or Bust."

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This design is easily identified by the large Gemini 5 text at the top which divides the brown inner border.

posted 08-26-2015 02:53 PM               

Also unless it was treated differently by the safety harness wearing on the patches or not, but Pete's has no evidence of sagging material or folds at all unlike Gordo's.

posted 04-12-2020 09:04 AM               

Cooper and Conrad were not suppose to reveal the hidden motto on the patch until they reached the 8 days mark in the mission. I have never seen a photograph showing the two astronauts with the motto revealed. Has anyone seen such a photo?