sts-51d

This mission's purpose was to deploy a Syncom/Leasat satellite into a geosynchronous orbit and retrieve and return the Long Duration Exposure Facility, whose orbit was decaying slowly after doing its mission. The crew would've consisted of 5 NASA astronauts and 2 Payload Specialists: Commander Dan Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, Mission Specialists Steve Nagel, John Fabian, and Shannon Lucid, and Payload Specialists Greg Jarvis and Charlie Walker. Scheduled for launch in either March or April of 1985, the orbiter that would've flown STS-51D was Discovery. There was some bad news, which was not about IUS problems this time: the STS-51E mission was cancelled and the crews changed missions; Brandenstein's crew moved to 51G and Bobko 's crew moved to the newly remanifested STS-51D flight. Charlie Walker chose to stay on this mission, because of the experiments he had to perform. So, an original member of STS-51E, Patrick Baudry, moved to STS-51G and Charlie Walker retained his spot as Payload Specialist 1.

This is Randy Hunt's replica version of the patch. The rounded tab corners and distinct color banding on the back are easy tells. One piece construction.

 STS-51-D was the sixteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.[1] The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on 12 April 1985 was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

The Swissartex version has a merrowed edge all around and a stiched on tab. Some may have been recycled from the tab-less, cancelled STS-41F patches.

Swissartex Emblem Inc. also manufactured a one piece version of this patch but with a shiny vacuum sealed backing instead of the waxy matt plastic coated backing (second set of photos). 

STS-51-D was the sixteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.[1] The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on 12 April 1985 was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

This is an apparent modern reproduction, single piece patch, fully merrowed edge.

This STS-51D patch could be manufactured by Eagle Crest Emblem Inc. (formaly Swissartex Emblem Inc.). Swissartex manufactured a one piece vacuum sealed backed version nearly identical to the image above. The one shown above has a shiny plastic coated backing to it which fits in with Eagle Crest Emblem Inc. patches.

STS-51-D was the sixteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.[1] The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on 12 April 1985 was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

Below are two versions of the A-B Emblem STS-51D patch. The mid-blue and light blue versions. The mid-blue is more difficult to find.  There is also an AB Emblem example were the main body of the patch is an original STS-41F patch, but with a mid blue 'tab' sewn onto the bottom to make the whole patch a STS-51D. 

STS-41F, scheduled for launch on Discovery, had a crew of five whose names were arranged around the body of the patch. The STS-41F mission was cancelled not long before the scheduled launch and a series of crew reassignments and orbiter and payload changes followed. Eventually the original crew found themselves scheduled to fly again on Discovery with two additional mission specialists added, making it possible to reuse the original STS-41F insignia with just an additional name tab at the bottom. This allowed AB Emblems and Swissartex, who had apparently already begun manufacturing patches for the STS-41F mission, to re-use these patch bodies for the STS-51D mission with sew on name tabs at the bottom.

This mission's purpose was to deploy a Syncom/Leasat satellite into a geosynchronous orbit and retrieve and return the Long Duration Exposure Facility, whose orbit was decaying slowly after doing its mission. The crew would've consisted of 5 NASA astronauts and 2 Payload Specialists: Commander Dan Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, Mission Specialists Steve Nagel, John Fabian, and Shannon Lucid, and Payload Specialists Greg Jarvis and Charlie Walker. Scheduled for launch in either March or April of 1985, the orbiter that would've flown STS-51D was Discovery. There was some bad news, which was not about IUS problems this time: the STS-51E mission was cancelled and the crews changed missions; Brandenstein's crew moved to 51G and Bobko 's crew moved to the newly remanifested STS-51D flight. Charlie Walker chose to stay on this mission, because of the experiments he had to perform. So, an original member of STS-51E, Patrick Baudry, moved to STS-51G and Charlie Walker retained his spot as Payload Specialist 1.
3" A-B Emblem version of the highly-sought patch.

This mission's purpose was to deploy a Syncom/Leasat satellite into a geosynchronous orbit and retrieve and return the Long Duration Exposure Facility, whose orbit was decaying slowly after doing its mission. The crew would've consisted of 5 NASA astronauts and 2 Payload Specialists: Commander Dan Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, Mission Specialists Steve Nagel, John Fabian, and Shannon Lucid, and Payload Specialists Greg Jarvis and Charlie Walker. Scheduled for launch in either March or April of 1985, the orbiter that would've flown STS-51D was Discovery. There was some bad news, which was not about IUS problems this time: the STS-51E mission was cancelled and the crews changed missions; Brandenstein's crew moved to 51G and Bobko 's crew moved to the newly remanifested STS-51D flight. Charlie Walker chose to stay on this mission, because of the experiments he had to perform. So, an original member of STS-51E, Patrick Baudry, moved to STS-51G and Charlie Walker retained his spot as Payload Specialist 1.

Deployed from STS 32 1/10/89; 177 deg W; leased to U.S. government. The Leasat series was developed as a commercial venture to provide dedicated communications services to the U. S. military.

Personal patch for Senator Garn on STS-51D