What began and remains as a running joke among myself and some fellow Space Tweeps turned into a fun patch design with our names on it. In some imaginary world where we became the first crew of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, we decided this would be our emblem.
The design features the Falcon 9 booster pushing the Dragon-1 spacecraft skyward away from Earth as the colors of dawn break over the horizon, signaling the beginning of a new chapter of a continuing story in American human spaceflight. The Falcon 9 is seen lofting the capsule toward the constellation "Draco," representing the revolutionary Dragon spacecraft.
The International Space Station is featured prominently atop the emblem, as it is the destination of this particular flight. However, the Falcon 9 is pointed toward the crescent Moon, which transforms into a red SpaceX logo, signifying the fact that the Moon and red planet Mars are the long-term goals of the agency.
Our surnames round out the patch by closing the gap between Earth and the ISS, representing the transit from terra firma to our outpost in the sky and stepping stone to destinations beyond.
- Nathan Moeller
