Mementos from canceled NASA moon plan flying on space shuttle (STS-130 Official Flight Kit)

Mementos from ex-NASA moon plan flying on shuttle (STS-130 OFK)

February 4, 2010

— Twenty-five lapel pins, each bearing the logo of NASA's now-canceled Constellation program to return astronauts to the Moon, are packed and poised to launch next week on space shuttle Endeavour for a round trip mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The one-inch, red, white and blue triangular pins appear on the list of several hundred mementos launching inside the STS-130 Official Flight Kit (OFK), a duffle bag-size stash of souvenirs flown on every shuttle mission at the request of the space agency, its partners and the astronaut crew. The contents are distributed post-flight as a small token of thanks to those who supported NASA and the mission.

The kit's contents were approved on Feb. 1, the same day that President Barack Obama released his budget request for NASA, calling for Constellation to be canceled in favor of extending the ISS and launching astronauts on a new fleet of commercially-provided spacecraft. The new plan, which first needs Congressional approval, would also fund technology research and development efforts to ultimately send astronauts to multiple destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Endeavour, which is scheduled to liftoff at 4:39 a.m. EST (0939 GMT) Sunday, is not the first to fly mementos from the Constellation program. Similar logo pins, patches and even Constellation ornaments have flown aboard the past nine shuttle missions since 2008.

Bringing the Moon to the space station

The Constellation lapel pins aren't STS-130's only onboard reminder of NASA's now-in-flux lunar plans: Endeavour's primary payload, the European-built, U.S.-funded Node 3 space station connecting module was named "Tranquility" after the site on the moon where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11's lunar module in 1969.

"I think the name for our module is very appropriate. Of course it means a lot more than the word itself," STS-130 pilot Terry Virts told collectSPACE.com during a pre-flight interview. "There is also the history between the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon and the module."

Virts, who served in the same fighter squadron that Aldrin flew with 40 years earlier, invited the moonwalker to watch Tranquility's launch.

"I had not actually made that connection myself, between Buzz and the name of our module, but I'll have to bring that up to him the next time I talk to him," he said.

Virts has another connection with Aldrin onboard, a small set of moon rocks collected from Tranquility Base. Before their launch to orbit, the lunar pebbles were carried to the top of Mt. Everest by former astronaut Scott Parazynski.

Together with a piece of Everest's summit, also retrieved by Parazynski, the plaque-mounted moon rocks will be displayed inside Tranquility's new seven-windowed Cupola to inspire the astronauts working there.

"Imagine being in the Cupola and looking out this huge series of windows and looking at the Moon and having a piece of the Moon right next to you. What's that going to be like? I have no idea. I'll come back and tell you," said STS-130 mission specialist Stephen Robinson.

Robinson had a role in including aboard the flight another, albeit subtle, nod to NASA's lunar exploration history in the form of his and his crewmates' mission patch.

The six-sided emblem, which was shaped to resemble the Cupola viewing port attached to Tranquility's side, depicts the Earth as it was first seen in a photograph taken from the Moon by Lunar Orbiter I.

Robinson came up with the idea for the patch as he was working in mission control the day after being assigned to Endeavour's crew.

"I'd seen that first photograph of the Earth from the Moon, taken in 1966 and I'm one of those guys who remembers 1966 and being excited about things made by humans going to the Moon and maybe people would someday go there," he recalled. "So that was an exciting photograph to me."

Robinson used software from his seat in mission control to simulate the view looking out from the Cupola, took a screenshot, printed and then cut it out.

"All on console I am doing this... I have this idea burning in my head! So I cut out the Cupola from the screenshot printout and cut the little windows out — and I'm talking to the [station] crew between doing all of this stuff — and laid it on top of a printout of that picture of the Earth."

"I showed it to the flight director and said, 'That will be our patch,'" recounted Robinson.

And so it was; in addition to the patches that the crew will wear, the mission's OFK is packed with nearly 700 of the four-inch embroidered badges.

Closer to home

Of course, most of the mementos stowed in the OFK are not moon-related. Each member of the crew was able to offer organizations who they support, or who've supported them, a chance to fly an item.

"The OFK, a lot of it has to do with my association with the Marine Corps," said STS-130 commander and USMC Colonel George Zamka. "I am going to be flying up some patches and some other unit memorabilia, not only for the flying units but also the ground units in the Marine Corps."

He is also flying some flags.

"America will be represented, of course, but also for my association with Colombia, I'll also have some Colombian flags along as well as some flags from Poland, which is my father's side [of the family]."

Spacewalker Nick Patrick has a couple of items "that are of great significance" to him. In addition to flying a rugby shirt for his school in London, England and a Boy Scouts' neck scarf in recognition of his son who's a Cub Scout, he also has a replica flag from the ship that gave Endeavour its name.

"I'm flying a reproduction of the red ensign that flew on the HM Bark Endeavour, which was Captain Cook's ship of discovery that he took to the Pacific. The ship he sailed when he discovered Hawaii," said Patrick.

STS-130 is space shuttle Endeavour's penultimate flight.

Bob Behnken, who with Patrick will conduct the STS-130 mission's three spacewalks, used some of his OFK slots to recognize an organization he thought was important.

"I contacted the National Park Service in Washington, DC, the headquarters and they put me in contact with several National Parks that I visited over the years and really had a good experience with," said Behnken.

Flying aboard Endeavour are patches for Yellowstone, Big Bend, Arches and Zion National Parks.

"I am going to try to take photos of those parks while I am in low Earth orbit," shared Benhken.

For mission specialist Kay Hire, the OFK provided her the chance to tell a story from her past, even though it wasn't planned out that way.

A captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Hire was friends and graduated the Naval Academy with Wendy Lawrence, who also went on to become an astronaut. Lawrence's father, Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence is being posthumously honored with a guided missile destroyer in his name, so Hire is flying a patch from the USS William P. Lawrence.

Hire also has a patch from the USS George H.W. Bush in recognition of another friend from the Naval Academy who is now the commanding officer of that aircraft carrier.

"Once I had gotten these items and I got them into the Official Flight Kit, all of sudden it occurred to me that both of these men were on the stage and shook my hand as I graduated from the Naval Academy. At the time in 1981, George H.W. Bush was the Vice President of the United States and he was our commencement speaker and Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence was the Superintendent of the Naval Academy," said Hire.

"It's just kind of a coincidence but I think it is pretty neat."

Lapel pins for the canceled Constellation program are among the mementos flying with the STS-130 crew. (Ben Cooper/cS)

The Tranquility Node 3 module with attached Cupola. (NASA)

This plaque, with its Moon and Mount Everest rock samples attached, will be flown to the space station. (collectSPACE)

STS-130 mission patch set against the Lunar Orbiter I photo of Earth from the Moon that inspired it. (NASA/LOIRP)

The STS-130 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-130 Official Flight Kit manifest, as provided by NASA. Inventory numbers that are missing indicate items that were removed prior to launch.

No.	Description	Sponsor/Purpose

1.	625 STS-130 crew patches 75 Expedition 23 patches	Agency Presentation
2.	800 Small United States Flags	Agency Presentation
3.	5 Sets U.S. States & Territories Flags	Agency Presentation
4.	5 Sets United Nations Members Flags	Agency Presentation
5.	20 Small Texas Flags 5 Small NASA Flags 5 NASA Patches 1 Large (3") JSC Medallion 6 Small (2") JSC Medallions 3 Bronze NASA Seal Medallion 1 Silver Shuttle Pendant	Agency Presentation
6.	5 Small Flags of the Following States: Colorado Oklahoma Maryland California Alabama Florida Mississippi Louisiana Georgia Utah Alaska Missouri Texas	Agency Presentation
7.	10 Small Flags of the Following Countries: Italy United Kingdom Russia	Agency Presentation
8.	5 Small Flags of the Following Countries/Province: Colombia Poland France Israel Finland Germany British Columbia England Ireland Scotland Peru	Agency Presentation
9.	Small Military Flags: 20 U.S. Air Force 10 U.S. Army 10 U.S. Coast Guard 10 U.S. Marine Corps 10 U.S. Navy	Agency Presentation
10.	10 Small United States Flags 10 Small Alabama State Flags	Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation
11.	10 Small Louisiana State Flags 10 Small Mississippi State Flags 5 Small NASA Flags 5 Small United States Flags	Stennis Space Center Presentation
12.	5 Small United States Flags 5 Small Florida State Flags	Kennedy Space Center Presentation
13.	200 Silver Snoopy Pins	Space Flight Awareness Presentation

14.	25 EVA Patches	Agency Presentation
15.	10 STS-130 Crew Patches 10 Small U.S. flags 10 DoD Space Test Program Patches 10 Space Development & Test Wing Coins 6 0-6 (Eagles) Grade Insignia 6 0-7 (Stars) Grade Insignia 1 U.S. Navy Memorial Dedication Coin 1 25th Space Range Squadron Unit Coin	DoD Presentation
16.	25 Constellation Program Pins	Constellation Office Presentation

17.	25 COD Patches	Center Operations Directorate Presentation

18.	25 Mission Operations Patches	Mission Operation Directorate Presentation

19.	12 Space Shuttle Program Patches	Agency Presentation

20.	100 Small Metal Shuttle Tokens	Agency Presentation

21.	School Photograph	Agency Presentation

22.	Small (7.25"x9.5"x1.5") Acrylic Plaque	Agency Presentation

23.	Florida Park Service Patch	Agency Presentation

Items 24 through 77 are manifested at the request of the STS-130 crewmembers.

24.	20"x14" Red, White and Blue Coast Guard Ensign	U.S. Coast Guard, Beaumont, TX

25.	Blue, Red and Yellow Patch	26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejeune, NC

26.	Green and White Patch	Marine Training Squadron, San Diego, CA

27.	Brown, Green and Black Patch	Green Knights, San Diego, CA

28.	30"x22" Red Flag	Third Marine Aircraft Wing, San Diego, CA

29.	5"x9" Sheet Music	Polish American Freedom Foundation, Warsaw, Poland

30.	White Jersey	Air Force Baseball Team, Colorado Springs, CO

31.	8"x12" Poster	Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO

32.	Blue Patch	94th Flying Training Squadron, Colorado Springs, CO

33.	Red, White and Blue Patch	22nd Flying Training Squadron, Fairchild AFB, WA

34.	16"x20" Embroidered Cloth	Bay Area Christian School, League City, TX

35.	White Jersey	Florida Marlins, Miami, FL

36.	White Patch	Southwest Little League, Waco, TX

37.	Orange Pennant	Oakland Hills High School, Oakland, CA

38.	Black, Blue and Yellow Patch	416th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, CA

39.	White Jersey	Aberdeen IronBirds, Aberdeen, MD

40.	White T-Shirt	American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA

41.	White, Blue and Red Patch	USS Lawrence, Norfolk, VA

42.	Blue and Gold Burgee	Robert Crown Sailing Center, Annapolis, MD

43.	Gold Medallion	Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC

44.	Gold and Navy Medallion	Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA

45.	Multi-Color Patch	USS George H.W. Bush CVN 77, Norfolk, VA

46.	11"x11" Navy Cloth with Crest	U.S. Naval Academy Class of '81, Annapolis, MD

47.	Yellow, Navy and Blue Patch	USN Centennial of Naval Aviation, San Diego, CA

48.	Red and Gold Patch	National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL

49.	Bronze Medallion	Office of the Chief of Navy Reserve, Washington, DC

50.	Pewter Medallion	Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood, Fairfax, VA

51.	12.5"x2" Slide Rule	Towell, Inc., Concord, CA

52.	Silver Crest Pin	Canadian Merchant Navy, Vancouver, BC

53.	Blue Shirt	Harrow International School, London, England

54.	Gold Scarf	Cub Scout Pack 704, Houston, TX

55.	3'x5' Red, White and Blue Ensign	The County of North Yorkshire, England

56.	3'x5' United States Flag with 16 Stars	Stonington Historical Society, Stonington, CT

57.	Blue Cloth	Harrow International School, Bangkok, Thailand

58.	Small Stuffed Ram Mascot	Awty Interational School, Houston, TX

59.	23"x9" Blue Pennant	Colegio Roosevelt School, Lima, Peru

60.	8"x12" Silk Batik Fabric	Harrow International School, Beijing, China

61.	Stainless Steel Bolt	Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridge, UK

62.	Red and Blue Patch	Boeing Company, Seattle, WA

63.	12"x29" Green and Red Banner	Washington Univ. School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO

64.	6"x2" Slide Rule	University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

65.	8.5"x11" Photo	Washington Univ. School of Physics, St. Louis, MO

66.	7"x26" Beige Banner	Yellowstone National Park, WY

67.	Multi-Color Patch	Big Bend National Park, TX

68.	Multi-Color Patch	Arches National Park, Moab, UT

69.	Multi-Color Patch	Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Houston, TX

70.	3.5" Blue, Silver and Gold Pocket Knife	Laborers Training Unit, St. Louis, MO

71.	3'x5' United States Flag	Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, CO

72.	Bronze Medallion	Zion National Park, Springdale, UT

73.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

74.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

75.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

76.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

77.	Silver Military Wings	Agency Presentation

Items 78 through 94 are manifested at the request of the Space Shuttle Program Office and Payload Customers.

78.	300 Sheets of Bookmarks	Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Presentation

79.	146 20A Mission Patches	International Space Station (ISS) Presentation

80.	100 Nodes Project Patches	Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation

81.	20 APEX-TAGES Patches	ISS Presentation

82.	6 APEX-TAGES Pins	ISS Presentation

83.	1 Envelopes Seeds	ISS Presentation

84.	111 4"x6" National Lab Team & Misc. Flags	ISS Presentation

85.	101 20A Mission Pins	ISS Presentation

86.	2 CSA APEX-Cambium Patches	ISS Presentation

87.	10 CSA APEX-Cambium Patches - Round	ISS Presentation

88.	50 CSA APEX-Cambium Decals	ISS Presentation

89.	10 CSA APEX-Cambium Pins	ISS Presentation

90.	10 CSA APEX-Cambium Printed Pictures	ISS Presentation

91.	1 JAXA Payload Team Wooden Memorial Printing Block	ISS Presentation

92.	50 GLACIER Payload Team Patches	ISS Presentation

93.	586 NASA/HRP Team Decals	ISS Presentation

94.	50 OZ Payload Team ISS Research Patches	ISS Presentation