The Space Shuttle mission STS-38 (Atlantis, launched November 15, 1990) was a Department of Defense flight carrying classified payloads for the U.S. government. Because the details of the mission were classified, aspects of its insignia and informal emblems have taken on some lore among space and military patch collectors. The official NASA mission patch features two stylized shuttle orbiters — one white on top and a black/white mirror image below. NASA’s explanation focuses on honoring all those who support the Space Shuttle program, with the mirrored orbiter symbolizing often-unheralded contributors. The "Dark" version inverts the light and dark parts of the insignia .It is not known known how many of the original patch were actually made for the crew and support personnel. This patch is a 4" patch and will ship mid-January 2026.
The STS-61E mission was cancelled after the challenger disaster, but before cancellation, only up to 200 patches were known to have been initially produced. Other replicas have been made of the STS-61E patch, however, it’s not common to find a two-piece replica of the patch.
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The Black Cat patch was produced by the crew of STS-13 to celebrate the unlucky number 13 in their original flight designation. At the same time the official STS-41C emblem was being designed, an underground patch with a black cat and a number “13” was also being designed and quitely circulated. It was rumored that as few as 20 original patches (but likely no more than 50) were produced for distribution amongst the crew. The “Black Cat” artwork was designed by the late Dick Scobee.
