STS-1 40TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PATCH T-Shirt

In 1981, NASA was preparing to launch a brand-new type of spacecraft and my wife, Lynn, was learning what a true space-case she married. Lucky for me we met and were married during the gap in flights. I wrote to the STS-1 crew asking if I might design their mission patch. They responded with appreciation for my interest but said it had been designed by Robert McCall. The first (and only) time I met the Columbia STS-1 crew together was in 2003 when the Space Mirror was rededicated for the STS-107 crew. Well, this year we celebrate those heady days of the beginning of the shuttle program. Jorge Cartes R and I created a new patch to mark the anniversary. The image is inspired by the official STS-1 patch but updated with art depicting the Columbia launch and the crew portrait. The American Bald Eagle represents the return to flight after the post Apollo gap of six years.