This NASA patch was launched into space aboard the Northrop Grumman NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft, the S.S. John Young, on 15th November 2018, where the spacecraft then berthed with the International Space Station a few days later.
The astronaut crew of the Space Station unloaded the payload containing this patch from the Cygnus spacecraft, guided it into the airlock, and sealed it shut. The astronauts then used the Space Station's robotic arm to maneuver the payload and attach it to the exterior of the Space Station, where it orbited, exposed to deep space, for 13 months and 22 days.
The robotic arm was utilized by the astronauts once more to recover the payload and bring it back into the airlock. The astronauts then loaded the payload onto the SpaceX CRS-19 Dragon capsule, which undocked from the Space Station and safely returned to Earth on 7th January 2020.
Throughout the entire journey, this patch traveled 170,926,000 miles and orbited Earth 6479 times.
Package Includes:
While in space this patch was exposed to:
This patch flew aboard the following spacecraft:
About the patch design:
The pins and patches were made to celebrate NASA's 60th anniversary, an incredible milestone in spaceflight and an even more incredible history. The design shows the NASA logo and the below graphic being held in place by a ''6'', thus representing the 60th anniversary. The graphic shows an Apollo Command Module having been launched into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the historic launch site. Above Earth sits a half-moon, the other half being made up of 12 stars that represent the 12 men who walked on its surface. Finally, besides the Cape are three stars, a tribute to the Apollo 1 crew. The design is finished with ''60 Years in Space'' written along the bottom. The design encapsulates the struggles, achievements, and memory of all that NASA has achieved in its 60 remarkable years.
Authentication Information:
This space-flown patch comes from our private collection. We arranged for a payload of pins and patches to be sent up to the International Space Station aboard the Grumman Cygnus NG-10 spacecraft on 15th November 2018. The payload was attached to the exterior of the ISS and orbited for over 13 months and 170,926,000 miles before returning to Earth via a SpaceX Dragon capsule on 7th January 2020. This patch was contained within this payload.
Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity:
All of our artifacts are thoroughly and extensively researched before being listed for sale, so much so that we're proud to offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity for this and other artifacts listed throughout our website. We also hold a record of every piece we sell, which can be identified and searched in our online database using the serial number listed on your certificate of authenticity.