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This is the mission patch for STS-28, a Department of Defense mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia flown in 1989. The 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. Aboard STS-107 as a mission specialist, 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-28, which launched on August 8, 1989, was only the third shuttle mission to fly after the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986 (and Columbia's first flight after the loss of her sister ship). The presence in Dave Brown's possessions of ten sequential mission patches, beginning with STS-26 and including this patch, may indicates that Brown started following the NASA space program more closely in 1988 during the return to flight missions. A flight surgeon and a naval aviator, Brown was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in April 1996.

Doug Brown, Dave Brown's brother, gave the patch to the Museum in 2006.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Date 1989 Country of Origin Unknown Type MEMORABILIA-Events Dimensions 2-D - Unframed (H x W): 10.2cm (4 in. dia.)
 Materials Embroidered patch
 Inventory Number A20080366000 Credit Line Gift of Douglas R. Brown Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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