For the past nine launches, the NSF team has worked hard behind the scenes to create a unique mission patch for each Starship flight, sometimes even making two, just in case. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Behind the scenes, our team prioritizes making sure each patch is scientifically accurate and mission specific. Let’s break down a few easter eggs from our most recent designs!
Flight 8 Patch
Our designer noticed a planetary alignment during the launch window, so the planets on the patch are staggered to match how they appeared in the night sky; no misleading straight lines here. During this flight, the planets were on “parade” so from left to right, you see Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, and then Saturn. The background features a scientifically accurate view of Starship’s trajectory of a middle point between the southern point of Africa and Australia, based on the flight path. Every detail celebrates the specifics of that flight. This was an amazing patch made up fully of easter eggs to bring the entire flight to life in patch form.
Flight 9 Patch
This one marks the first ever Super Heavy booster reuse, highlighted by a patina effect at the top of the booster. The patch itself is a nanogon (yep, nine sides!) to represent Starship’s 9th flight. The booster is shown in motion, which could mean either a successful catch or being positioned for the next launch, symbolizing both milestones and challenges. Also on this patch, we see the booster on the move either after a successful catch or rolling towards the pad to prepare for flight, but…things do not always go as planned…
Shrug Patch
So, finally. We must touch on our very special Shrug Patch. For the last flight, we made patches showing SpaceX's mission objective... Starlink test satellites deploying from Starship... and it didn't happen. For flight 9, we figured we'd be prepared... and made a patch depicting what we DIDN'T want to happen, but unfortunately both ship and booster were still lost during flight…but hey space is hard ya know¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But hey…rumor has it our next patch is the best yet! Stay Tuned!