Beschreibung:

FLOWN ON GEMINI 5 – Cloth mission emblem, 1965. A flown emblem from the crew of Gemini 5, the first to have an emblem designed and attached to their space suits. The central feature is a white and brown covered wagon surrounded by the words GEMINI 5, COOPER, and CONRAD in red. The emblem is displayed on a SIGNED provenance letter from Gordon COOPER, which reads: " This patch flew on the Gemini 5 mission during August 21 to 29, 1965. I was spacecraft commander with fellow astronaut Charles Conrad as pilot. Gemini 5 was the first flight to have a designed crew mission emblem for the United States space program. The idea for the covered wagon came from a wooden model a family member had whittled. I felt it was the best way to symbolize the pioneering spirit of this early Gemini flight. The '8 days or bust' wording was not added to this run of patches due to a directive from NASA Administrator James Webb He indicated that a flight time short of eight days could be viewed as a mission failure. We also had to cover that wording with cloth for the patches already sewn on our flight space suits. We did fly the group of patches with the “8 days or bust” in the spacecraft anyway! Our mission completed all eight days and Gemini 5 marked the beginning of the United States lead in manned space exploration. " Cloth emblem, 4 inches in diameter. [With:] Color photograph SIGNED and INSCRIBED: "You need a shave, Charles Conrad" and "Maybe tomorrow, Gordon Cooper," 8 by 10 inches. Archivally matted to 12.5 by 19 inches.