Created to honor the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft, the collectible embroidered patch features a geometric pattern representing the space shuttle’s glow rising into the night sky.
The colorful, diamond-shaped pieces can also be seen as the metaphorical “glass ceiling” that Eileen Collins broke on her way to the stars.
In the latest patch of the 59,000-member Space Hipsters group on Facebook, each Eileen Collins “Signature Edition” emblem features the astronaut’s signature stitched into the design. Sales of the patches benefit Taking Up Space, a nonprofit organization that empowers middle school-aged Native American girls to move beyond their disabilities by sending them to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
The second woman to attend the US Air Force Test Pilot School, Collins was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1990. She became the first woman to fly as a pilot on a space shuttle mission when it launched on STS-63 in 1995, and she flew again in the right seat of STS-84 two years later. Both flights visited the Mir space station; the first was the first shuttle mission to rendezvous with the Russian outpost, and the second was the sixth to dock there.
Later in 1999, Collins became the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft, leading the STS-93 crew aboard space shuttle Columbia on the mission to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Six years later, after the loss of Columbia on a subsequent mission, Collins commanded the STS-114 crew of the shuttle Discovery, leading the orbiter fleet to return to flight.
Relating to: New movie ‘Spacewoman’ celebrates Eileen Collins, NASA’s first female space commander and pilot
Collins logged a total of more than 36 days in space during his four missions. Collins became the 21st American woman to fly into space and the 27th worldwide. According to the Space Explorers Association Space Explorer Registry, she was the 328th person to leave Earth’s atmosphere and the 321st person to orbit the planet.
In 2021, Collins wrote her memoirs, “From the Glass Ceiling to the Stars.” These memories now form the basis of the upcoming documentary “Spacewoman.”
Collins’ Signature Edition patch depicts his history-making STS-93 launch and features stars on the border to represent each shuttle mission. Other stars in the emblem’s design symbolize Soviet-era cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly into space; Sally Ride, the first US female astronaut in space; and four women who lost their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight and exploration, Judy Resnik, Christa McAuliffe, Kalpana Chawla, and Laurel Clark.
Like previous Signature Edition releases, the Collins patch was produced by North Carolina-based AB Emblem, which is also a supplier to NASA and made the STS-63, STS-84, STS-93, and STS-114 insignia worn by Collins. into space.
Four versions of Collins’ patch are available for donations to Taking Up Space:
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Limited edition of 50 “gold” patches featuring Collins’ facsimile signature embroidered in metallic gold thread, the shuttle’s orange thread feather, and individually numbered display cards, each hand-signed by Collins.
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Limited edition of 100 “silver” patches “signed” with the shuttle’s plumage in shades of blue in silver metallic thread. They also come with numbered cards signed by Collins.
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Two open release patches that contain no metallic thread and come without a graphics card. Both versions feature Collins’ signature white thread and are available in blue or orange.
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The patches are priced at $75 for the gold version, $50 for the silver version, and $15 for the clear version (or $25 for the blue and orange versions). There is a limit of one gold and two silver patches per person.
Also available are 4-inch (10-centimeter) vinyl decals of clear-release blue and orange designs for $3 ($5 for two) in addition to patch orders. You can find details on how to order in the Space Hipsters Facebook group.
The Collins patch is the fifth entry in the Space Hipsters’ Signature Edition series. The group has previously submitted emblems celebrating Apollo 13 pilot Fred Haise and shuttle astronauts Mike Mullane, Hoot Gibson and John Herrington.
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