engle

This version of the STS-2 path from Swissartex has the distinctive white embroidery near the nose of the shuttle. This patch was produiced fro 1983 and on.

Modern reproduction with modern embroidery and nice detail. 

STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched on 12 November 1981 and landed two days later on 14 November. STS-2 marked the first time ever that a manned, reusable orbital spacecraft left the Earth for its second mission and returned to space.

The AB Emblem STS-2 patch has a plastic coated back. This example is enclosed in a Swissartex / Kennedy Space Certer packet. This is because Swissartex who had the contract with the Kennedy Space Center, could not supply their own version of the STS-2 patch so they bought in around 1,000 patches from AB Emblem to cover the short fall. There is a rubber stamp on the back of the card header which says: EMBLEM MFG. IN USA PACKAGED BY SWISSARTEX EMBLEM INC. (Other AB Emblem patches were bought in to cover short falls during this contract between 1983 - 1988, along with patches manufactured by Cape Kennedy Medals). 

  STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 27 August 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 3 September.

I am unsure of the maker of this patch. It appears very similar to the A-B version however, the lettering is thicker. The stitching is exquisite.

STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 27 August 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 3 September.

This is a modern-style embroidered patch, may have a bare cloth back.  Quality is not bad aside from the stitching joinging all letter elements. The bow shock line is very thin.

STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 27 August 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 3 September.

The Swissartex is virtually identical to the A-B Emblem version, however some suble differences exist. The "Y" in Covey is taller than the preceding "E", the stars tend to crowd in to the "NG" in Engle and the stars are ever so slightly larger. 

For this Swissartex STS-51I patch there are two versions manufactured by Swissartex Emblem Inc. A waxy matt plastic coated backing, or a vacuum sealed backing. The modern version of this patch is manufactured by Eagle Crest Emblem Inc. of Taiwan, which has a clear shiny plastic coated backing.

STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 27 August 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 3 September.

Lion Brothers version. One of the most highly-sought LB patches. Easily recognized by the larger "USA" on the wing as well as cloth back.

STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched on 12 November 1981 and landed two days later on 14 November. STS-2 marked the first time ever that a manned, reusable orbital spacecraft left the Earth for its second mission and returned to space.
In the early planning stages of the Space Shuttle program, STS-2 was intended to be a Skylab reboost mission. However, delays with the shuttle's development, and the deteriorating orbit of Skylab, made the mission impossible. Skylab ultimately de-orbited in 1979, two years before the launch of STS-2

The nine-month-long ALT program was conducted from February through November 1977 at the Dryden Flight Research Facility and demonstrated that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane, except without power-gliding flight. Two NASA astronaut crews-Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton and Joe Engle and Dick Truly-took turns flying the 150,000-pound spacecraft to free-flight landings.

Known as the 'Roadrunner Patch'. This patch was issued by the backup crew of Apollo 14 as a joke.
This is the official version.

Apollo 14's backup crew made their own patch. The red border indicates this was made by A-B Emblem.

This patch was issued as a rebuttal to the back-up crew's
'Road Runner' patch.