Astronaut Could’ve Been a Klingon

NASA astronaut Steve Swanson is the current commander aboard the International Space Station. He and his fellow astronauts designed the mission patch for Expedition 40. It’s a nice insignia, but Swanson’s first design, shown above, was even better. Before submitting the design to NASA, he and his daughter modified it to show the ISS and the crew members’ names. NASA still rejected it.

"He wanted something that was kind of badass," revealed Mary Swanson, Steve's wife, in a call with collectSPACE, "and Klingons are kind of badass."

Steve and Caroline Swanson's original idea for the patch borrowed its shape and trifoil logo from a patch created for the Klingon Brotherhood, as seen on the 1990's television series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

"Steve grew up watching 'Star Trek,'" Mary explained. "We watched reruns early in our marriage. We watched 'Next Generation' pretty religiously. So, yeah, he is somewhat of a fan."

NASA vetoed the design over copyright concerns. But at least Swanson took his Klingon t-shirt into space!



CollectSPACE has more details on the design process for the Kingon insignia. -via Boing Boing


Newest 1
Newest 1 Comment

I can't believe Paramount would have passed up such a great product placement opportunity. The permission to use the Klingon insignia on a NASA mission patch would have been there for the asking, I'm sure.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"Astronaut Could’ve Been a Klingon"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More