posted 01-16-2025 11:33 AM               

Represented is only a partial collection of the many types of issued badges, access entry permits, and official credentials used and kept since the early 1970's to present day. The majority of coverages were for hundreds of missiles, rockets, and other space shots that had been authorized by NASA, the U.S. Air Force, aerospace contractors, commercial companies, and for a vast array of other events such as ceremonies, "on site" visits, restricted areas and offices, news briefings, conferences, assigned space committees, sponsorships by SCCS, and even a few invited pre-and post launch parties. For this display there are mostly clip-on badges and not any of the more common car passes and vehicle permits, of which, there are hundreds and hundreds more as well.

The second panel display is devoted to covering the Space Shuttle program spanning about 35 years of issued credentials, but not shown due to limited spacing here are dozens of additional shuttle related badges. Altogether, there is a full set of all NASA 135 press mission badges and many of those media badges are included on the second panel above.

My first government-issued badge was for a Delta expendable rocket launch in September 1971 that successfully orbited a solar observatory probe (OSO-H). NASA's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate had invited this young high school space buff to view a "live" up-close rocket launch from atop the roof of the Cape's Range Control Center (see: First 'live' viewing of a space launch). It was the start of a 55(+) year long unusual space career that first started as a space memorabilia and astrophilately specialist, working on aerospace history and research projects, as an accredited news media (press) reporter, other missions as an "on base" launch viewing site observer, a company consultant with public relations and graphic design work, and as a space service vendor. All were/are a true labor of love!

posted 01-16-2025 03:00 PM               

As for my own, I kept each badge for the 59 launches I have attended (to date) and recently paired them with a mission patch and placed them together in an album.

Beyond the press badges that were issued to me and noticing you have an ABC News badge for STS-1, I too have one of those paired with an ABC News badge for STS-135. Does anyone know if any of the other TV networks had their own custom badges to bookend the space shuttle program?

Beyond launches at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, I also have several from Wallops Flight Facility, a few from Vandenberg Space Force Base, one from Mojave Air and Space Port (for the first SpaceShipOne flight to reach space), one from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (for Soyuz TM-34), one from Spaceport America (for the first launch of passengers on SpaceShipTwo) and one from Launch Site One (for the launch of Laura Shepard Churchley on New Shepard).

posted 01-20-2025 10:27 AM               

In reference to other custom-made badges by TV networks, like ABC, there was CBS News. It's the only other major television network that I can recall would apply. Note the badge in the middle for Space Shuttle 51-C in 1985, however, souvenir badges by CBS News are extremely limited and rare. The ABC News Press badges were usually gifted by pre-launch visits to their elevated two-story launch viewing studio located "on-site" nearby the NASA News Center at Press Site 39.