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Endeavour's final Flight Kit: merit badges, mission patches and more

May 31, 2011

— After more than 15 days in orbit, space shuttle Endeavour is headed home to Earth for its final time. The youngest of NASA's winged orbiters, Endeavour is returning with an empty cargo bay — its payload, the final U.S. components for the International Space Station delivered and installed.

Packed inside its crew cabin, sharing space with its six astronauts, is Endeavour's final delivery: several thousand pounds of science experiment results and spent supplies from the station. Also onboard, having made the round trip with the shuttle, is a special stash of souvenirs — the mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK), packed with mementos for the many organizations that supported the astronauts and made the flight a success.

The duffle-bag sized flight kit, together with the astronauts' individual personal preference kits, continues a tradition of astronauts flying mementos dating back through all of the 134 shuttle missions to date and the earlier U.S. manned space flights. Hundreds of thousands of small U.S. flags, crew patches, medallions, and lapel pins have flown over the course of the past five decades.

Endeavour's STS-134 flight kit is no exception, with nearly 500 of the crew's embroidered patches — as designed by commander Mark Kelly's mother-in-law, Congresswoman Gabrille Giffords' (D-Ariz.) mother, Gloria — alongside more than 5,000 4-inch by 6-inch U.S. flags and more than 2,000 of Endeavour's own orbiter flags.

Endeavour's 25th and final mission is also the next-to-last for the space shuttle program, which is represented in the OFK by 2,700 "end-of-mission" lapel pins and hundreds of similarly designed bookmarks, decals and emblems to be distributed after the flight to shuttle program workers.

Not everything in the flight kit however, is packed in mass. Many are individual mementos flown at the request of the crew members for organizations that they support and that supported them.

For example, a two-inch gold bar from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy made the trip on behalf of Kelly, who graduated from the academy in 1986.

A poem from the Tucson Poetry Center in Arizona is also on board, along with an Archie Comics comic book cover.

Another cartoon character, a Czech mole named Krtek, is aboard Endeavour in the form of a stuffed toy.

"My wife's mother is Czech and so we have strong ties to the Czech Republic," mission specialist Drew Feustel told collectSPACE. "They're actually building a whole science and education outreach program around this character and we hope to be able to go back to visit the country and tour around with Krtek and try to get the schools involved and see a lot of the students and excite them about math and science and technology."

Mementos ranging from a metal disk borrowed from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Rome to a pennant from Tuscany are in the OFK representing Italy, the home nation of European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and STS-134 mission specialist Roberto Vittori.

The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, England, loaned a 3-inch wooden ball from the 16th century ship "Mary Rose" so it could sail in the vast ocean of space. The "Mary Rose" was one of the first purpose-built warships and was raised in 1982 after more than 400 years underwater. The ball, called a "parrel," was part of the mechanism used to raise sails up the masts.

The "Mary Rose" has an additional connection to NASA: astronaut Michael Foale worked as a volunteer diver on the ship's excavation in 1981.

Another museum-sponsored piece is the five-star insignia worn by General Henry "Hap" Arnold, an architect of the modern Air Force. The insignia belongs to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Endeavour's pilot Greg H. Johnson and mission specialist Mike Fincke are Air Force officers.

More than 100 robotics merit badges are inside the flight kit for the Boy Scouts of America. The newly introduced badge was developed in cooperation with NASA but also shares a connection with STS-134 mission specialist Greg Chamitoff, who was an Eagle Scout.

Chamitoff also flew a patch designed by the Boy Scouts' Santa Clara County Council in California, where he was a scout.

"When this flight came up, they got very excited about making a space patch for the council and so they did, and I'm flying it for them," Chamitoff told collectSPACE.

Robotics in space is also manifested by a hand and arm flying on Endeavour. Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space, was delivered to the station during the previous shuttle mission and its extra appendage was packed on Endeavour to salute the work done on Earth to deploy the robot in space.

 


Some of the space shuttle program's "end of mission" patches that were packed in shuttle Endeavour's final Official Flight Kit.




Endeavour's empty cargo bay (with the station's Dextre robot in the foreground) as seen before undocking from the ISS. (NASA)

The STS-134 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-134 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.

 

  1. 425 STS-134 crew patches

  2. 75 Expedition 27 patches

  3. 75 Expedition 28 patches

  4. 75 Expedition 29 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.

 

  1. 50 Small Texas Flags

  2. 50 Small Flags of Italy

  3. 20 Small Flags of Russia

  4. 25 Small NASA Flags

  5. 25 NASA Patches

  6. 1 Large (3") JSC Medallion

  7. 6 Small (2") JSC Medallions

  8. 2 NASA Seal Medallions (1 Bronze, 1 Silver)

  9. 8 Silver Shuttle Pendant

 

Agency Presentation

6.

 

10 Small (4"x6") State Flags:

  1. Arizona

  2. California

 

Agency Presentation

7.

 

5 Small (4"x6") State Flags:

  1. Michigan

  2. Ohio

  3. Pennsylvania

  4. Hawaii

  5. (1) City of San Jóse Flag

 

Agency Presentation

8.

 

5 Small (4"x6") Flags:

  1. United Kingdom

  2. India

  3. Czech Republic

  4. Canada

  5. Australia

  6. Greece

  7. Israel

  8. Vatican

 

Agency Presentation

9.

 

20 Small (4"x6") Military Flags:

  1. 20 U.S. Air Force

  2. 20 U.S. Army

  3. 20 U.S. Coast Guard

  4. 20 U.S. Marine Corps

  5. 20 U.S. Navy

 

Agency Presentation

10.

 

  1. 10 Small United States Flags

  2. 10 Small Alabama State Flags

 

Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation

11.

 

  1. 10 Small Louisiana State Flags

  2. 10 Small Mississippi State Flags

  3. 5 Small NASA Flags

  4. 5 Small United States Flags

  5. 2 12"x20" LSU Flags

 

Stennis Space Center Presentation

12.

 

  1. 5 Small United States Flags

  2. 5 Small Florida State Flags

  3. 15 1.75" KSC Medallions

 

Kennedy Space Center Presentation

13.

 

200 Silver Snoopy Pins

 

Space Flight Awareness Presentation

 

14.

 

25 EVA Patches

 

Agency Presentation

15.

 

  1. 10 STS-134 Crew Patches

  2. 23 Small (4"x6") U.S. flags

  3. 11 Space Development & Test Wing Coins

  4. 10 DoD Space Test Program Patches

  5. 5 USS Hopper (DDG-70) Unit Coins

  6. 1 20th Space Control Squadron Unit Patch

  7. 1 20th Space Control Squadron Unit Scarf

 

DoD Presentation

16.

 

25 COD Patches

 

Center Operations Directorate Presentation

 

17.

 

25 Mission Operations Patches

 

Mission Operation Directorate Presentation

 

18.

 

27 Safety and Mission Assurance Patches

 

Safety and Mission Assurance Presentation

 

19.

 

25 JSC Engineering Patches

 

Engineering Directorate Presentation

 

20.

 

50 Power of One Lapel Pins

 

JSC Presentation

 

21.

 

  1. 10 Silver NASA Medallions (Ingots)

  2. 8"x10" Paper Artwork

 

Agency Presentation

22.

 

  1. Challenger Center DVD

  2. 4 Challenger Center Computer Flash Drives

 

Agency Presentation

23.

 

100 Navy Space Systems Patches

 

Navy Presentation

 

24.

 

2 Apollo 1 Patches

 

Agency Presentation

 

Items 25 through 80 are manifested at the request of the STS-134 crewmembers.

 

25.

 

1"x2" Gold Bar

 

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Great Neck, NY

 

26.

 

6"x8.5" Printed Poem

 

Tucson Poetry Center, Tucson, AZ

 

27.

 

6.5"x10" Comic Book Cover

 

Archie Comics, Rye, NY

 

28.

 

355th Fighter Wing Medallion

 

Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, AZ

 

29.

 

11"x16" Red and White Pennant

 

Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista, AZ

 

30.

 

9" Wooden Ball

 

Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, UK

 

31.

 

Red Astros Jersey

 

Houston Astros, Houston, TX

 

32.

 

5"x7" Photograph

 

Clear Creek Intermediate School Math Dept., League City, TX

 

33.

 

Black T-Shirt

 

Clear Creek Intermediate School, League City, TX

 

34.

 

3'x5' White and Green Flag

 

Clear Falls High School, League City, TX

 

35.

 

1.75'x1.2' White School Banner

 

Bayside Intermediate School, League City, TX

 

36.

 

White T-Shirt

 

Mossman Elementary School, League City, TX

 

37.

 

Black Tote Bag

 

Hagerty Insurance, Traverse City, MI

 

38.

 

Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold USAF 5-Star Insignia

 

National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

 

39.

 

Small White Patch

 

Mayor's Office, L'Aquila, Italy

 

40.

 

46th Aircraft Maintenance X Squadron Medallion

 

Eglin AFB, FL

 

41.

 

Pink and Black Keychain

 

L.A. Marine, Lake Ann, MI

 

42.

 

Gold American Contract Bridge League Pin

 

ACBL, Horn Lake, MS

 

43.

 

Book Cover

 

Microstrategy, Inc., Vienna, VA

 

44.

 

1.5'x5' White Banner

 

Erie Planetarium, Erie, PA

 

45.

 

3'x4' Green, White and Red Flag with Patches

 

Planetario, Citta de Lecco, Italy

 

46.

 

3'x5' U.S. Flag

 

Department of Defense Payloads Office, Houston, TX

 

47.

 

3.3'x2.3' Blue Flag

 

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

 

48.

 

Gray T-shirt

 

Junior Dynamos Academy, Houston, TX

 

49.

 

17.5"x18" Red Banner

 

University of Southern California Alumni, Houston, TX

 

50.

 

11"x18" Red Towel

 

Sewickley Academy, Pittsburgh, PA

 

51.

 

Red and Black Hat

 

Chandra-Tora Associates, New Delhi, India

 

52.

 

Gold Pocket Watch

 

Ingalls Images Photography, Washington, DC

 

53.

 

Silver International Space Station Pin

 

Clear Lake Piano, Houston, TX

 

54.

 

5.5"x9" White Pennant

 

Regione Toscana, Toscana, Italy

 

55.

 

9"x13" White Pennant

 

Security Institute Falcon, Rome Italy

 

56.

 

11"x9" Red Banner

 

Citta di Perugia, Perugia, Italy

 

57.

 

7"x11" White Pennant

 

Lions Club Sansepolcro, Italy

 

58.

 

3'x5' Flag

 

Centro Internazionale per la Pace, Popoli de Assisi, Italy

 

59.

 

3'x5' Flag of Italy

 

President's Office, Rome Italy

 

60.

 

6.5"x10" Flag of Italy

 

Italian Space Agency, Rome, Italy

 

61.

 

4"x2" Tan Stone

 

L'Aquila City, Italy

 

62.

 

10" Metal Disk

 

National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Rome, Italy

 

63.

 

2.5'x6.5' Banner

 

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

 

64.

 

3'x5' Purple, Yellow and Red Flag

 

Sigma Phi Epsilon Foundation, Richmond, VA

 

65.

 

3'x6' Red Flag

 

Province of Ontario, Canada

 

66.

 

4.5"x4.5" White Tile

 

McGill University, Montreal Canada

 

67.

 

6" Black Stuffed Animal

 

Moravska Ustredna, Brno, Czech Republic

 

68.

 

Tan Hat

 

Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department, Purdue University

 

69.

 

Green and White School Letter "O"

 

Lake Orion High School, Lake Orion, MI

 

70.

 

12"x7.5" U.S. Flag

 

ABCK's Enterprises, Webster, TX

 

71.

 

3'x5' Yellow, White and Blue Flag

 

Office of the Mayor, San Jose, CA

 

72.

 

3'x2' Blue Banner

 

Silvercrest Elementary, Pearland, TX

 

73.

 

1.5'x1.5' Chess Board Mat

 

United States Chess Federation, Crossville, TN

 

74.

 

11"x14.5" Embroidered Placemat

 

Fairmount Bagels, Montreal, Canada

 

75.

 

13"x19" Printed Letter

 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA

 

76.

 

Small Blue Scrubs

 

Baylor Department of Pediatrics, Houston, TX

 

77.

 

Blue Patch

 

University of Sydney, Australia

 

78.

 

Patch

 

Boy Scouts Santa Clara County Council, CA

 

79.

 

Silver STS-134 Medallion

 

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

 

80.

 

Silver STS-134 Medallion

 

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA

 

81.

 

56 Assorted Constellation Patches

 

Agency Presentation

 

82.

 

25 NASA Tournament Lab Decals

 

Agency Presentation

 

83.

 

50 STS-134 Crew Patches

 

Space Shuttle Program Presentation

 

STS-134 Addendum OFK

 

1.

 

2718 Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Commemorative End of Mission Pins

 

SSP Presentation

 

2.

 

1 Roll of Foil

 

SSP Presentation

 

3.

 

3744 Small (4"x6") United States Flags

 

JSC Presentation

 

4.

 

450 STORRM Mission Patches

 

SSP Presentation

 

5.

 

815 Sheets of Wings in Orbit Bookmarks

 

SSP Presentation

 

6.

 

3000 Sheets SSP Legacy Bookmarks

 

SSP Presentation

 

7.

 

2000 Small (4"x6") Orbiter Flags

 

KSC Presentation

 

8.

 

25 NASA Human Research Program Patches

 

Space Life Sciences Presentation

 

9.

 

312 NASA/HRP Team Pins

 

Space Life Sciences Presentation

 

10.

 

1400 Space Life Sciences Lapel Pins

 

Space Life Sciences Presentation

 

11.

 

400 STS-134 SSP Bookmarks

 

SSP Presentation

 

12.

 

600 AMS Patches

 

International Space Station Presentation

 

13.

 

100 AMS Pins

 

ISS Presentation

 

14.

 

1 JAXA Memorial Wood Printing Block

 

ISS Presentation

 

15.

 

50 MERLIN U.S. Flags

 

ISS Presentation

 

16.

 

100 POIC Decals

 

ISS Presentation

 

17.

 

25 GLACIER Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

18.

 

50 GLACIER Decals

 

ISS Presentation

 

19.

 

3 Cubelab-Kentucky Flag Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

20.

 

12 Cubelab-NANORACKS Card

 

ISS Presentation

 

21.

 

100 BCAT-6 Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

22.

 

15 CardioVascular Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

23.

 

29 CardioVascular Decals

 

ISS Presentation

 

24.

 

3 Full Size (3'x5') United States Flags

 

Agency Presentation

 

25.

 

150 ULF6 Mission Pins

 

ISS Presentation

 

26.

 

100 STP-H3 Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

27.

 

200 Shuttle Commemorative End of Mission Patches

 

SSP Presentation

 

28.

 

60 NASA Medallions

 

Agency Presentation

 

29.

 

25 CSA Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

30.

 

50 CSA Decals

 

ISS Presentation

 

31.

 

10 University of Guelph Medallion Magnets (CSA)

 

ISS Presentation

 

32.

 

20 University of Guelph Patches (CSA)

 

ISS Presentation

 

33.

 

200 Robonaut Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

34.

 

50 BXF Investigation Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

35.

 

103 Boy Scout Robotic Merit Badges

 

Agency Presentation

 

36.

 

142 Sheets SSP Bookmarks

 

SSP Presentation

 

37.

 

1 Full Size (3'x5') LSU Flag

 

Stennis Space Center Presentation

 

38.

 

247 Shuttle Commemorative End of Mission Pins

 

SSP Presentation

 

39.

 

150 ULF6 Mission Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

40.

 

101 EVA Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

41.

 

100 MISSE Decals

 

ISS Presentation

 

42.

 

60 ULF5 MIssion Pins

 

ISS Presentation

 

43.

 

40 ASI Logos

 

ISS Presentation

 

44.

 

40 ASI Italian Flags

 

ISS Presentation

 

45.

 

15 ASI Small Logo Flags

 

ISS Presentation

 

46.

 

25 ASI Small Italian Flags

 

ISS Presentation

 

47.

 

30 IVGEN Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

48.

 

30 Harness Station SDTO Patches

 

ISS Presentation

 

49.

 

1 String of Beads

 

Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation

 

50.

 

1 Robonaut Hand/Arm with TMG Glove

 

Agency Presentation

 

51.

 

1 ESA Achievement Award

 

ISS Presentation


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