Date: 2002
Country of Origin: Unknown
Dimensions:
2-D - Unframed (H x W): 11.4 x 10.2cm (4 1/2 in. x 4 in.)
Materials:
Embroidered patch
This STS-113 patch belonged to NASA astronaut David Brown, a mission specialist who flew in space for the first time as a member of the crew of STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia mission that disintegrated upon reentry on February 1, 2003. (Because of changes in the flight schedule, STS-107 flew after STS-113.) A flight surgeon and a naval aviator, Brown was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in April 1996 in Group 16. Aboard STS-107, Brown logged 15 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes in space. Although this patch was never flown in space, it was a personal memento of Brown's.
STS-113, a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on November 23, 2002, added the P1 truss to station and replaced the Expedition-5 crew with the Expedition-6 crew. Peggy A. Whitson, a member of the Expedition-5 crew, was also aboard the return trip of STS-113. Two astronauts from Brown's astronaut class (Group 16, 1996) were STS-113 crew members: Payk S. Lockhard and John Bennett Herrington. Brown may have owned this patch as a memento of his classmates' flight.
Doug Brown, Dave Brown's brother, gave the patch to the Museum in 2006.
Gift of Douglas R. Brown
