STS Contingency Support Office DOD NASA SHUTTLE USAF NON-COMMERCIAL SPACE PATCH

Description

STS Contingency Support Office DOD NASA SHUTTLE USAF NON-COMMERCIAL SPACE PATCH
T
he first military Shuttle mission was launched from Pad 39A at 1500Z on 27 June 1982. Military space missions also accounted for part or all of 14 out of 37 Shuttle flights launched from the Cape between August 1984 and July 1992. While many details of those missions are not releasable, some features of Shuttle payload ground processing operations and range support requirements can be summarized for what might be termed a "typical" military space mission.  -
SOURCE:
Global Security
A military space shuttle would have been the military equivalent of NASA's space shuttle. Many experts believe that it is extremely unlikely that NASA, the United States Department of Defense or any other Federal agency could keep the existence of such a spacecraft secret, given the official knowledge that stated extensive technical support and launching establishment would be necessary to fly it.
It should however be noted that, early in the design phase of what eventually became the Space Shuttle, there were plans for the U.S. military to purchase some of the vehicles for its own purposes (mainly the servicing and crewing of proposed 'surveillance space stations'). The design requirements that thus emerged (in particular, the need for a longer-range glide capability, enabling the shuttle to land at specific U.S. Air Force bases), affected the eventual design of the vehicle, increasing its complexity. However, none of these 'Blue Shuttles' were ever built, and the U.S. military turned to increasingly sophisticated unmanned satellites as a more viable alternative.
Regular space shuttles have on occasion carried out missions for the military. It is noteworthy that NASA and the DoD agreed on delivering Discovery to Vandenberg AFB, first in May 1985 and then in September of that year. Discovery would have been dedicated for military and civilian flights from Vandenbergs' SLC-6 launch complex. The schedule slipped until the Challenger Accident in January 1986. In the wake of Challenger, on December 26, 1989 the Space Shuttle Program at Vandenberg was terminated by the USAF.
Military Shuttle flights were conducted from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the last dedicated mission being STS-53 in late 1992, deploying a military SDS B-3 communication satellite. Some military payloads have been flown on regular civilian Shuttle missions afterwards.
SOURCE:
Wikipedia
THIS - ORIGINAL - FULLY EMBROIDERED - NON-COMMERCIAL - 4.5" - PATCH IS IN - MINT - CONDITION
THANKS FOR LOOKING, I WILL BE HAPPY TO COMBINE ITEMS TO SAVE ON SHIPPING
**** PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR -
EBAY STORE
- AND OTHER EBAY AUCTIONS
A LOT
MORE
GREAT PATCHES
,
CHALLENGE COINS,
FLOWN MEDALLIONS,
SPACE STICKERS, AND INCREDIBLE
SIGNED NASA PHOTOS
NASA LITHOS AND
SPACE COLLECTIBLES
ARE LISTED
****PLEASE KEEP WATCHING, WE ARE ADDING NEW ITEMS DAILY****