Pilot designs shuttle logo

[Gothamite]

From the http://www.avpress.com/n/11/0311_s17.hts:

EDWARDS AFB ­- Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts are going into space wearing a mission patch designed by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center research pilot Mark Pestana.

Mission STS-123 will take to the international space station the Japanese Kibo module, which will hold electronic equipment and serve as a storage area for experiment materials. It also carries the Canadian Dextre robot, which will attach to the station's robotic arm and allow astronauts to replace hardware outside the station without doing a spacewalk.

Pestana's logo depicts a shuttle with its mechanical arm extending the Kibo module to the station. Behind the shuttle is an image of the Canadian robot, marked with a red maple leaf emblem.

This is Pestana's ninth design to fly into space on shuttle crews' suits.

"Most crews have some idea what they want and ask for help in assembling their ideas," Pestana said. "Some crews have no particular ideas and I get to start from scratch. Some also want specific colors or symbolism, some of which have hidden meanings. An example is a field of stars numbering the total number of children among the crewmembers."

"I usually draft three or four designs," Pestana continued. "After further deliberation it narrows down to the final. In the end it's both fun and an honor to be asked to help, and then to see my art launched into orbit."

A retired Air Force colonel, Pestana started drawing as a boy but never has had formal art training. His mother was an artist and his father was in the Air Force.

A research pilot and project manager at NASA Dryden for nine years, Pestana pilots NASA Dryden's B200 King Air, the T-34C and the remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft.

He also serves as co-pilot and flight-test engineer on the center's F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

And here it is:

Although it's really cool to have a pilot working on these designs, it does look like it was designed by an amateur. Way too busy.

It does embroider better than I thought it would, but I wish he'd left just a few of those elements out.

[Cola]

I thought most of the astronauts were responsible for designing all of the patches?

Anyhow, I kinda like it...although it is certainly busy. The Dextre robot seems a little too detailed and out of place and the Canadian leaf didn't translate well at all to the patch...with three countries involved and three form of spacecraft for each, maybe some of the other elements could have been left out to bring more attention to that and present it better

[CS85]

Is the NASA all-star game coming up?

[eRay]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

[Cola]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

I think you missed the point of what the design is trying to imply. Did you read the article?

[eRay]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

I think you missed the point of what the design is trying to imply. Did you read the article?

imply is the wrong word, considering how literal the patch is. i read the part of the article that was posted, as the link doesn't work. i just don't think the patch has to illustrate exactly what the mission is to accomplish. simpler is better, and it is a patch, not the instructions for the astronauts.

[Cola]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

I think you missed the point of what the design is trying to imply. Did you read the article?

imply is the wrong word, considering how literal the patch is. i read the part of the article that was posted, as the link doesn't work. i just don't think the patch has to illustrate exactly what the mission is to accomplish. simpler is better, and it is a patch, not the instructions for the astronauts.

oh okay, i was just making sure. i guess i was just thinking that it was a big deal for Japan and having the US's space shuttle while not including the Canadian or Japanese spacecraft would be a little awkward and selfish. i agree that it is cluttered and could lose some of the elements, i just think that if the space shuttle is going to be included, some references to japan and canada should as well.

and i didn't say what the patch is trying to imply. i said the design, which would make imply a right word...with the design implying what was mentioned in the article.

[eRay]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

I think you missed the point of what the design is trying to imply. Did you read the article?

imply is the wrong word, considering how literal the patch is. i read the part of the article that was posted, as the link doesn't work. i just don't think the patch has to illustrate exactly what the mission is to accomplish. simpler is better, and it is a patch, not the instructions for the astronauts.

oh okay, i was just making sure. i guess i was just thinking that it was a big deal for Japan and having the US's space shuttle while not including the Canadian or Japanese spacecraft would be a little awkward and selfish. i agree that it is cluttered and could lose some of the elements, i just think that if the space shuttle is going to be included, some references to japan and canada should as well.

and i didn't say what the patch is trying to imply. i said the design, which would make imply a right word...with the design implying what was mentioned in the article.

i forgot about japan, thats my bad, so include the japanese flag or some symbol of japan too, just not some overly detailed shape that isn't recognizable to a lot of people. i have been around long enough to know not to get into semantics on a message board, so i won't get into it. the word "imply" means one thing to me and another to you, thats all it is, and nobody can have a wrong opinion or interpretation.

[Webhamster]

I thought most of the astronauts were responsible for designing all of the patches?

It's up to the crew. They ultimately choose the final design and offer guidance on elements they want in it but often get offers to help design it from friends or friends of friends, etc. STS-115 turned their patch design process over to a group of design students at York University, STS-111 and STS-98 got designs from a graphic designer friend of Commander Ken Cockrell.

There have been a number of cases where an up and coming designer will make a patch design and send it to the crew (usually they had an "in" somewhere along the line) in the hopes that it will be selected or they will chosen to formulate a final design based on one or more of their submissions. They know they won't get paid for it but that it would look impressive in a portfolio.

Alot of good patch design stories can be found here.

[Cola]

remove the stars on the black background, the satellites, the robot thing, and the mechanical arm do-hickey coming off the space shuttle. then simplify the shuttle. no shading or lines, just black or white shapes. then put the maple leaf in the space where the mechanical arm and satellite used to be. now you have a nice logo, IMO.

I think you missed the point of what the design is trying to imply. Did you read the article?

imply is the wrong word, considering how literal the patch is. i read the part of the article that was posted, as the link doesn't work. i just don't think the patch has to illustrate exactly what the mission is to accomplish. simpler is better, and it is a patch, not the instructions for the astronauts.

oh okay, i was just making sure. i guess i was just thinking that it was a big deal for Japan and having the US's space shuttle while not including the Canadian or Japanese spacecraft would be a little awkward and selfish. i agree that it is cluttered and could lose some of the elements, i just think that if the space shuttle is going to be included, some references to japan and canada should as well.

and i didn't say what the patch is trying to imply. i said the design, which would make imply a right word...with the design implying what was mentioned in the article.

just not some overly detailed shape that isn't recognizable to a lot of people.

yeah I certainly agree with you there. not only does it look bad and vague in the graphic, but it translates even worse to the patch...as well as the Canadian craft.