ISS Expedition 15 Mission Patch - with names version approx 4" dia.

Full colour embroidered expedition patch.

This patch is a variant and has the Expedition crewmember names. Mission patches of this type are usually privately produced for crew member family and friends. These patches were part of a limited edition run for collectors. Manufactured by AB Emblem, the official NASA supplier to exacting detail. Beware of imitations and poor quality reproductions.

The operational teamwork between human space flight controllers and the on-orbit crew take center stage in this emblem. Against a backdrop familiar to all flight controllers, past and present, independent of any nationality, the fifteenth expedition to the ISS is represented in Roman numeral form as part of the ground track traces emblazoned on the Mercator projection of the home planet Earth. The ISS, shown in its fully operational, assembly complete configuration, unfurls and then reunites the flags of this Russian and American crew in a show of our continuing international cooperation. Golden spheres placed strategically on the ground track near the flight control centers of the United States and Russia serve to symbolize both the joint efforts from each nation's team of flight controllers and the shuttle and Soyuz crew vehicles in their chase orbit as they rendezvous with the ISS. A rising sun provides a classic touch to the emblem signifying the perpetual nature of manned space flight operations and their origin in these two space-faring nations.