STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program and the first Space Shuttle docking to Russian space station Mir. This patch features two concentric circles with the Sun shining in the distance and the Earth at the bottom.
My favorite patch features an astronaut, George D. Nelson, repairing the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission ("Solar Max") satellite with the Space Shuttle Orbiter and Earth seen in the background, all being reflected in another astronauts helmet visor.
The Challener mission which ended in disaster when all seven astronauts, including a school teacher, Chirsty McAuliffe signified by a small apple, were killed when an O-ring seal on the starboard Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) failed.
This patch, featuring a numeral 7 overlaying the silhouette of Space Shuttle Orbiter, returned former Project Mercury astronaut and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr.'s to space after 36 years for his second space flight. At age 77, Glenn became the oldest person, to date, to go into space.
Though this was the 8th manned mission in the Gemini program it was named Gemini 10 and represented by a Roman numeral 10 with two stars possibly representing the two astronauts on board, John W. Young and Michael Collins.
Prominently featuring a bald eagle, this mission had a five astronaut crew including John H. Casper, Donald R. McMonagle, Mario Runco, Jr., Gregory J. Harbaugh and Susan J. Helms. The primary payload was the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) which was deployed on day one of the mission.
Showing an eagle landing on the Moon's surface with the Earth in sky, this was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon securing the three man crew, Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., in history.
This "V" shaped patch represents a mission collaboration with Russia and was the fifth of nine planned missions to the Russian space station, Mir, and the second one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut John Blaha, who had been on Mir since September 19 1996, was replaced by astronaut Jerry Linenger. The other astronauts on board were Michael A. Baker, Brent W. Jett, Jr., Peter J.K. Wisoff, John M. Grunsfeld and Marsha S. Ivins.
