Originally, the plan was to submit different designs to the team who would fly space shuttles Discovery and Endeavour to their respective display sites in Virginia and California and move Atlantis to the KSC Visitor Center with the hope that they would be accepted as official emblems for the historic events.

With Discovery first in line to be sent to her new home at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, we started with the fleet leader.  Here is the first design attempt -

We used images of the Vehicle Assembly Building and the tower at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center with the mated Shuttle Carrier Aircraft/Orbiter stack flying between the two to symbolize the trip Discovery will be making from one site to another.  Thirty-nine stars trail the stack representing the thirty-nine spaceflights made by Discovery during her twenty-seven years of service.  The design was then submitted to the SCA team at Dryden.

A fun fact to note is that the SCA/Orbiter drawing was traced and created from two separate images, as we could not find a photo that matched the vision we had for the design.  It required using a separate photo of a KLM 747 taking off and creating a composite image of a combined 747/Discovery stack.  The SCA paint scheme was created in the line drawing process.  Since the two images didn’t line up perfectly, only one side of each vehicle was traced.  The two drawings were then lined up and mirrored to produce the full SCA/Orbiter stack.

Fittingly, the image of the orbiter used for tracing was a photo from the last ferry flight of the vehicle in 2009.  The September SCA flight of Discovery after her STS-128 landing in California actually became the final such flight of an operational space shuttle orbiter.

After a few weeks of waiting and not hearing anything, we dismissed the attempt to submit the emblem designs to the SCA teams and proceeded to plan ahead with out own plans to cover Discovery’s move from KSC to the NASM in April 2012.

Eventually, we decided that, with all five members of Max-Q getting involved with the effort along with a good friend of ours who would pilot a member of the crew and much of our gear, we could have our own emblem to commemorate the events, which would see the team in both Florida and Virginia for coverage.  With the previous design sitting dormant on a hard drive, we decided to continue development of the design for ourselves and add our own names to it as the “Discovery Chase Team.”  Here was the next rev of the design -

While the emblem was well on its way, we knew it needed to become something more than a simple circle.  One design that had inspired our lead graphics designer was the flowing ribbon of STS-128.  It was decided that that same complete ribbon would be used in the DCT design to symbolize Discovery’s career coming full circle.  With that, the final rev was cranked out -

The thirty-nine stars, VAB, Udvar-Hazy tower and SCA/orbiter stack were all retained (though re-arranged for visual balance) and ribbon added.  The colors used in the interior of the emblem were those of the emblem used for Discovery’s maiden flight in 1984 – STS-41-B.  The ribbon was painted in red and black, which are the two symbolic colors of the Max-Q team.

With the patch now produced and our plans solidified, we now wait for NASA HQ to set a firm ferry date for Discovery.  We’ll be wearing this patch during the trip so keep your eyes peeled around KSC and Washington D.C. as Discovery makes one final trip!

January-No events scheduled

February-Daytona 500, though not as press, this will be attended by Larry and Steven

March-TICO Air show at the Space Coast Regional Airport, Botanical Gardens Austin Texas (weather dependant as growth and insect life need some rain to flourish)

April-DCT, This is an all hands event where all Max-Q Members for the first time will be working the same event at the same time together on locations in Florida and Washington DC, Texas Bluebonnets

May- Central Texas Air Show Temple Texas

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Full description on our website – http://maxqent.com/main.php?q=design-aio-50th-anniversary.html

We will be offering the patches for $7.50 each!

With our “Press To MECO” documentary now complete and released, the fact that the mighty space shuttle program has indeed come to an end is beginning to wash over me.  The memories I have of the program, both from media broadcasts and up-close, in-person encounters with new friends and spaceflight hardware, only become more vivid with the passing of time, even though I had expected them to fade.

As I sit here pondering both the future of our great nation’s space program and what involvement, if any, I’ll have with it, I look back on the time I shared with the space shuttle program and I do so proudly.  My appreciation and love for the vehicles did not truly begin until the tragic morning of February 1, 2003, as the good ship Columbia and her heroic crew were lost in the skies above my home state.  Though I’d always known about the program, that moment in history triggered a passion I never knew I had.

In the seven years that followed, I watched proudly as NASA returned the three remaining orbiters to their proper roles as orbiting space vehicles.  I even had a last-second surprise chance to see Discovery up close as she returned to Florida on the back of the 747 carrier aircraft.  But something was missing.  As the space station neared completion and the end of the program approached, I knew my chance to see a launch was about to expire.  With the help of four new colleagues, however, the chance finally presented itself in the winter of 2009.  After examining my school schedule and the mission manifest, the determination was made – STS-132 would be my launch.

Six months of planning began that December and continued right up until the final two weeks ahead of the May 14, 2010 launch target, which had been set over one year in advance.  The journey began three days ahead of liftoff and culminated right on schedule, as Atlantis lifted off into a clear blue sky right on time, just three miles from where I stood.  Seven years of hopes and dreams had turned into a vivid reality as the heat of the SRBs warmed my face and the pounding shock of the shuttle stack’s thrust reverberated in my lungs.  It’s an experience that surpassed all hopes and expectations and a feeling that I will never forget.

As the program concluded this summer, I watched with some sadness, but also with great pride and admiration for what was accomplished with these wonderful vehicles.  But above all, I was proud to know I got to be a part of it, even if that part was incredibly small and only for a moment.  And through all of this, there were many friends made along the way, and I thank you all for being a part of this storied adventure that will forever be a part who I am.

Feel free to share your own personal memories of the space shuttle here!

A few days ago, I was approached by a good friend and fellow space enthusiast who had attended the NASA Tweetup for the launch of Juno last week on its journey to Jupiter.  He was looking for a patch design for the group that would be unique to the event and pay tribute to both the mission and those who attended the liftoff.  Here’s what we came up with!

A full description and high-resolution image is available here – http://maxqent.com/main.php?q=portfolio-juno-tweetup.html