This STS-111 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-111.) A flight surgeon and a naval aviator, Brown was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in April 1996 as a part of 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-111, which launched on June 5, 2002, was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station which replaced the Expedition-4 crew with the Expediction-5 crew. Peggy A. Whitson, the commander of the Expedition-5 crew, and Philippe Perrin, a mission specialist aboard STS-111, were both members of Brown's astronaut class. Brown may have owned this patch out of support for his astronaut classmates.

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