Flags in Space: NASA Symbols and Flags in the U.S. Manned Space Program
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Previously Published Works UC Santa Barbara A University of California author or department has made this article openly available. Thanks to the Academic Senate’s Open Access Policy, a great many UC-authored scholarly publications will now be freely available on this site. Let us know how this access is important for you. We want to hear your story! http://escholarship.org/reader_feedback.html Title: Flags in Space: NASA Symbols and Flags in the U.S. Manned Space Program Journal Issue: The Flag Bulletin: the International Journal of Vexillology, XLVI(5-6) Author: Platoff, Anne M., UC Santa Barbara Publication Date: 2007 [2010] Series: UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works Permalink: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/1tt282fs Preferred Citation: Anne M. Platoff, "Flags in Space: NASA Symbols and Flags in the U.S. Manned Space Program", The Flag Bulletin: the International Journal of Vexillology, No. 230, Vol. XLVI, Nos. 5-6 (September- December 2007) [published 2010], p. 143-221. Keywords: NASA symbols, NASA seal, NASA insignia, NASA logotype, NASA meatball, NASA worm, NASA flag, flags in the space program, U.S. Space Program, United States space program, human spaceflight, manned spaceflight, flown flags, space shuttle flags, space station flags, payload flags, mission flags, program flags, Shuttle-Mir flag, Columbia orbiter, Endeavour orbiter, Discovery orbiter, Atantis orbiter, space shuttle orbiters, Project Mercury, Project Gemini, Apollo Program, flags on spacecraft, flags on space suits, mission patches, Space Shuttle Program, International Space Station, flags on the Moon, lunar flags, lunar flag assembly, space-flown souvenirs, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Abstract: One of the most memorable images from the Apollo missions to the moon is the picture of the astronaut standing next to the U.S. flag. Throughout the history of America’s space program flags have been prevalent symbols on space suits, spacecraft, and mission patches. Since the early days of manned space flight “flown” flags have been used as mementos to commemorate eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. important flights and to recognize the contributions of individuals to the success of the program. Other symbols besides flags also have played an important role as the program has evolved. This paper will discuss some of the ways that flags have been used in the manned space program, unique flags that have been used to represent the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its programs, and other symbols unique to NASA. Copyright Information: Copyright 2007 [2010] by the article author(s). This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs4.0 license, http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2007 #230 THE FLAG BULLETIN THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF VEXILLOLOGY www.flagresearchcenter.com 225 [email protected] THE FLAG BULLETIN THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF VEXILLOLOGY September-December 2007 No. 230 Volume XLVI, Nos. 5-6 FLAGS IN SPACE: NASA SYMBOLS AND FLAGS IN THE U.S. MANNED SPACE PROGRAM Anne M. Platoff 143-221 COVER PICTURES 222 INDEX 223-224 The Flag Bulletin is officially recognized by the International Federation of Vexillological Associations for the publication of scholarly articles relating to vexillology Art layout for this issue by Terri Malgieri Funding for addition of color pages and binding of this combined issue was provided by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library and by the University of California Research Grants for Librarians Program. The Flag Bulletin at the time of publication was behind schedule and therefore the references in the article to dates after December 2007 reflect events that occurred after that date but before the publication of this issue in 2010. © Copyright 2007 by the Flag Research Center; all rights reserved. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE FLAG BULLETIN, 3 Edgehill Rd., Winchester, Mass. 01890 U.S.A. THE FLAG BULLETIN (ISSN 0015-3370) is published bimonthly; the annual subscription rate is $68.00. Periodicals postage paid at Winchester. www.flagresearchcenter.com www.flagresearchcenter.com 141 [email protected] ANNE M. PLATOFF (Annie) is a librarian at the University of Cali- fornia, Santa Barbara Library. From 1989-1996 she was a contrac- tor employee at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. During this time she worked as an Information Specialist for the New Initiatives Of- fice and the Exploration Programs Office, and later as a Policy Ana- lyst for the Public Affairs Office. While Annie’s interest in flags began in childhood, she joined the North American Vexillological Association in 1984. She has twice won the Captain William Driver Award for the best paper presented at the annual NAVA meeting. The first award was in 1992 for “Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Plac- ing a Flag on the Moon”, which was later published by NASA and in volume 1 of Raven: a Journal of Vexillology. Her second Driver Award was in 2008 for “Lions and Babrs and Bears: Analyzing the Flags of Russia’s Federal Subjects”, which was published as Rus- sian Regional Flags (Raven, vol. 16). Annie’s other vexillological presentations and publications have covered topics such as Soviet children’s flags, the use of flags in the U.S. manned space program, the Pike-Pawnee flag incident, and proposed designs for the state flag of Kansas. Annie serves on NAVA’s Executive Board (second vice president) and on the Editorial Board for Raven. Annie has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Kansas State University, a Master of Science degree in library sci- ence from the University of North Texas, and a Master of Arts de- gree in historical studies from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. She also has a graduate certificate in museum studies from Arizona State University. Annie’s master’s thesis, Eyes on the Red Planet: A History of Manned Mars Mission Planning, 1952-1970, was published by NASA in 2001 (NASA CR-2001-208928). THIS WORK WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED TO NAVA 36 (DENVER CO 2002) THE FLAG BULLETIN 142 NO. 230 (2007) FLAGS IN SPACE: NASA SYMBOLS AND FLAGS IN THE U.S. MANNED SPACE PROGRAM Anne M. Platoff INTRODUCTION When the National Aeronautics and Space Administra- tion (NASA) was established in 1958 new symbols were created to represent the agency. These symbols have been used in all aspects of America’s1 space program. As NASA launched its first manned mission in 1961 it established a tradition of human space exploration that has captured the imagination of people around the world. In July 1969 astro- nauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to set foot on the Moon. During their short stay on the lunar surface the astronauts deployed a specially- designed U.S. flag, making this event significant not only in the history of manned space flight, but also in the field of vexillology. The first flag on the Moon was a logical con- tinuation of the use of flags in exploration and represents an example of how flags have been used in the history of the U.S. space program. Flags have been used as a national iden- tifier on American manned spacecraft, on space suits, and on launch vehicles. They have been flown into space and given as mementos and awards. Specialized flags have been designed to represent the programs carried out as part of manned space exploration. There have also been flags to represent different missions and payloads flown on the space shuttle. This combination of flags and emblems illustrates www.flagresearchcenter.com 143 [email protected] the importance of the use of symbols to America’s manned space program. Though the space shuttles are scheduled for retirement sometime in 2011, human space exploration will continue as a multinational venture as new crews are launched to the International Space Station using Russian rockets. SYMBOLS OF NASA Scientists from the Soviet Union won the first heat of the “space race” when they launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, on 4 October 1957. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, influenced by the phenomenon of “Sputnik shock” that swept the country, called for the creation of a civilian agency to manage a space program of the United States. Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act and it was signed into law on 29 July 1958. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established on 1 October 1958 and immediately work began to catch up with and surpass Soviet accomplishments in space. Creation of a new government agency led to the creation of new symbols including a new flag. The seal of the Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Administration (front cover and Fig. 1) was created by the U.S. Army Institute of Her- aldry, based upon a design submitted by a designer at the Lewis Research Center. It was formally established by Ex- ecutive Order 10849 on 27 November 1959 and was announced in the Federal Register on 1 December 1959. The executive order described the seal in the following way: On a disc of the blue sky strewn with white stars, to dexter a large yellow sphere bearing a red flight symbol apex in upper sinister and THE FLAG BULLETIN 144 NO. 230 (2007) Fig. 1: NASA SEAL wings enveloping and casting a gray-blue shadow upon the sphere, all partially en- circled with a horizontal white orbit, in sinister a small light-blue sphere; circumscribing the disc a white band edged gold inscribed “Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Administration U.S.A.” in red letters.