[upbeat music]
- "OUR WORLD."
- HI, AND WELCOME TO "OUR WORLD."
I'M ORBY THE ORBITER,
AND I'M PROUD TO BE A PART
OF NASA'S SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
IN OUR 30-YAR PROGRAM, MY SISTER SHUTTLES--
ATLANTIS, COLUMBIA, ENDEAVOUR, CHALLENGER, AND DISCOVERY--
HAVE BEEN ON 135 MISSIONS TO LOW-EARTH ORBIT,
SOME TO DELIVER SATELLITES TO SPACE
OR TO FIX SATELLITES ALREADY IN SPACE,
AND MANY OF THE MISSIONS
WENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION--
135 IN ALL.
THAT'S A LOT OF MISSIONS,
AND EACH SHUTTLE MISSION HAS A SPECIAL MISSION PATCH
THAT TELLS ABOUT THIS UNIQUE NASA ADVENTURE.
FOR EACH MISSION, NASA CAREFULLY CHOSE A CREW OF ASTRONAUTS.
THE SIZE OF THE CREW WAS DETERMINED BY THE MISSION.
ONE OF THE FIRST JOBS THE NEW TEAM WAS GIVEN
WAS TO CREATE A PATCH
REPRESENTING THE CREW AND THE MISSION.
THE ASTRONAUTS CHOSE PICTURES, COLORS, AND SYMBOLS
THAT EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MISSION.
BUT THE MISSION PATCH,
WHICH INCLUDES THE ASTRONAUTS' NAMES,
ALSO REPRESENTS EACH OF THE ASTRONAUTS ON THE TEAM.
THE ASTRONAUTS COULD DESIGN THE PATCH THEMSELVES
OR WORK WITH A GRAPHIC DESIGNER OR PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
TO CREATE THE PATCH,
BUT LIKE MANY OTHER JOBS THE ASTRONAUTS MUST DO,
DESIGNING THEIR MISSION PATCH COULD BE A CHALLENGE.
- IT STARTS OFF WITH THIS BLANK SHEET OF PAPER,
AND YOU CAN START WITH ANY DIRECTION YOU WANT,
BUT YOU'VE ALSO GOT TO REMEMBER THAT YOU'VE GOT CREW MEMBERS,
YOU'VE GOT A FLIGHT CONTROL TEAM,
AND YOU'VE GOT--NASA MANAGEMENT HAS OPINIONS ABOUT THE DESIGN,
AND THEY DON'T ALL MATCH,
AND SO YOU WIND UP, YOU KNOW, GETTING A GOOD LESSON
IN DIPLOMACY WHEN YOU MAKE A PATCH.
THEN ONCE YOU KIND OF PICK A GENERAL DESIGN,
THEN YOU GOT TO REFINE IT,
WHERE THINGS GO, YOU KNOW, THE COLOR PLACEMENT.
YOU FINALLY GET THIS PROOF THAT EVERYBODY LOOKS AT,
AND EVERYBODY NODS, AND YOU JUST WIPE THE SWEAT FROM YOUR BROW,
YOU BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF,
AND THEN YOU GO TO PRINT WITH THE WHOLE THING.
- THE FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION WAS CALLED STS-1.
STS STANDS FOR SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
HERE'S THE STS-1 MISSION PATCH.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT HAS THE ASTRONAUTS' NAMES
AND SHOWS THE SHUTTLE ORBITING EARTH.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN THESE PICTURES BEFORE,
YOU CAN SAY THANKS TO THE ASTRONAUTS ON STS-31,
THE MISSION RESPONSIBLE
FOR PUTTING THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE INTO ORBIT.
THE PATCH SHOWS AN IMAGE OF THIS GREAT SPACE OBSERVATORY
AND THE GALAXIES IT WOULD STUDY.
NOT ALL MISSION PATCHES
ARE SIMPLE SHAPES LIKE CIRCLES OR OVALS.
SOME CREWS USED THE SHAPE OF THE PATCH
TO EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT THEIR MISSION.
THE TRIANGULAR SHAPE OF THE STS-34 MISSION PATCH
WAS THE CREW'S WAY OF REPRESENTING
THE NEW FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY.
THE SATELLITE ON THE PATCH IS THE GALILEO SPACECRAFT,
WHICH WAS RELEASED FROM THE PAYLOAD BAY OF THE ORBITER
AND SENT ON ITS WAY TO JUPITER.
AND THE SHAPE OF THE STS-130 MISSION PATCH
IS ACTUALLY THE SEVEN-WINDOWED CUPOLA,
A SPECIAL WINDOW DESIGNED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SO ASTRONAUTS CAN CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS,
CONTROL ROBOTICS ACTIVITIES, OR MAKE OBSERVATIONS OF EARTH.
THE CUPOLA HAS BECOME A FAVORITE HANGOUT
FOR ASTRONAUTS ON BOARD THE ISS WHO WANT A GLIMPSE OF HOME.
SPEAKING OF THE ISS, SEVERAL MISSION PATCHES
HAVE SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT THE IMPORTANT ROLE
THE SHUTTLE PLAYED IN BUILDING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
THE RISING SUN ON THE STS-88 PATCH
SYMBOLIZES THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SPACE.
THE OUTLINES OF THE COUNTRIES THAT WERE WORKING TOGETHER
TO BUILD THE NEW STATION ARE SHOWN ON THE PATCH.
OVER A DECADE LATER, THE MISSION PATCH FOR STS-131
SHOWS THE NEARLY COMPLETED INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
IN THIS PATCH, THE ASTRONAUTS CHOSE
TO INCLUDE SEVEN STARS IN THE BACKGROUND
TO REPRESENT EACH OF THE SEVEN CREW MEMBERS.
- I GOT TO WORK ON THE STS-133 PATCH,
WHERE I HAD A SUGGESTION FROM ONE OF THE SCIENTISTS
HERE AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
THAT THIS ARTIST, ROBERT MCCALL, HAD DESIGNED
THE VERY LAST APOLLO PATCH, AMONG OTHERS,
AND HAD DESIGNED THE VERY FIRST SHUTTLE PATCH.
HE SAYS, "WOULDN'T IT BE A NICE BOOKEND
IF HE GOT TO DESIGN THE VERY LAST SHUTTLE MISSION PATCH?"
AT THE TIME, 133 WAS THE LAST SCHEDULED SHUTTLE MISSION.
HE GOT BACK IN TOUCH WITH ME IMMEDIATELY
AND SAID HE'D LOVE TO GO DO THAT.
AND THEY WERE JUST GORGEOUS DESIGNS.
THEY WERE REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
- OMEGA, THE LAST LETTER IN THE GREEK ALPHABET,
WAS ADDED TO THE STS-135 MISSION PATCH
BECAUSE THIS MISSION WAS THE LAST FLIGHT
OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.
ON THIS PATCH, THE SHUTTLE IS CENTERED
OVER PARTS OF THE NASA LOGO
TO SHOW HOW THE SHUTTLE HAS BEEN AT THE HEART OF NASA
FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS
AND TO HONOR THE ENTIRE NASA AND CONTRACTOR TEAM
THAT MADE POSSIBLE ALL OF THE INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE, JUST BECAUSE IT FLEW.
THE MISSION PATCHES CREATED BY EACH ASTRONAUT TEAM
WILL HELP US REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE
OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE'S 30-YEAR HISTORY.
BUT THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
IF YOU WERE TO DESIGN A MISSION PATCH
FOR NASA'S NEXT-GENERATION PROGRAM,
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU COME UP WITH.
YOU'VE GOT BIG WINGS TO FILL, BUT WHATEVER YOUR DREAMS,
I'M SURE YOU'LL MAKE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
- "OUR WORLD."