posted 04-01-2011 09:19 PM               

Perhaps the best known of the Mach 25 spinoffs is the 100 Days in space patch, which substitutes the space shuttle on the original insignia with the International Space Station.

Now there are at least two others:

Mach 26

Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

As pictured on the flight suits of astronauts Drew Feustel and Scott Altman, the Mach 26 patch was created for the STS-125 crew.

The incremental increase in Mach number is due to the nature of their mission; to service the Hubble Space Telescope, Atlantis' crew flew to an altitude between 300 and 360 miles, about 100 miles above the International Space Station. As such, their reentry velocity on the way back to Earth was greater.

Credit: Tazewell County Museum/Ed Emmons

MAXA 25

Credit: collectSPACE/Ben Cooper

Mike Fincke is the first to sport this patch, which replaces the space shuttle on the original with a Russian Soyuz and substitutes "MAXA" for "Mach."

Fincke, who will earn his Mach 25 patch on Endeavour's STS-134 mission, has twice flown to the International Space Station on Soyuz spacecraft.

posted 04-02-2011 10:46 AM            

1. Was "Mach 26" only achieved by the STS-125 crew, or all crews who worked on Hubble (STS-31 for launching it, and subsequent servicing missions)? I know STS-31 was one of, if not THE highest shuttle mission launched.

2. I'm now trying to imagine how the "Mach 25" patch would look with a Mercury, Gemini or Apollo. I imagine that at least the later on lunar missions, broke Mach 25 on entry.

posted 10-01-2012 06:52 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Skylon:
I imagine that at least the later on lunar missions, broke Mach 25 on entry.

---

posted 01-18-2013 01:31 PM               

Yes the Mercury and Gemini capsules did reenter at much faster speeds than the shuttle (up to mach 32/33 as mentioned earlier). However, this patch/badge is not for pure speed. Rather it is for speed during controlled flight. If that were the case, many prior astronauts would qualify for it as well. But that is not the case.

You have to remember that the Mercury/Gemini capsules (and Apollo too for that matter) had very little control over their flight paths. They did not by any means qualify for controlled flight as the crew did not "fly" them. The shuttles had much more control. So this patch is more of a qualification badge for controlled flight, not pure speed. And hence, the reason that (so far) only shuttle crews have qualified to wear it.

posted 10-30-2023 05:50 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Based on the Shannon Walker photo above, the "Mach 25" Soyuz patch has been in use since at least 2012.

---

• 195063 Made In USA 07/12/20 (July 2012 Weaverville NC)

• 406821 A-B Emblem "crown logo" 0319 55 (Sample patches) is the only known Mach 25 (Soyuz) patch to have had a label attached onto it.
• There may of been other production runs made in July 2016 and April 2019, but without any labels on them?

To date there has been 51 U.S. astronauts (and five "space tourists") have flown aboard a Soyuz capsule, from William Shepherd (ISS-1) TM-31 in October 2000, right through to Loral O'Hara (ISS-70) in MS-24 in September 2023. All of those 51 U.S. astronauts should of or would have been a recipient of a Mach 25 (Soyuz) patch from the Astronaut Office. They are;

• TM-31 (launch only, landed on STS-113) William Shepherd (140 Days on ISS-1)
  
• STS-113/TMA-1 Donald Pettit (1st flight) landed on Soyuz TMA-1) (161 Days on ISS-6)
  
• TMA-2 Edward Lu (184 Days on ISS-7)
  
• TMA-3 Michael Foale (194 Days on ISS-8)
  
• TMA-4 Mike Fincke (MAXA 25 patch) (1st flight for 187 Days on ISS-9)
  
• TMA-5 Leroy Chiao (192 Days on ISS-10)
  
• TMA-6 John Philips (179 Days on ISS-11)
  
• TMA-7 William McArthur (189 Days on ISS-12)
  
• TMA-7 ^^Gregory Olsen (Space Tourist flight for 9 Days 21 hours)^^
  
• TMA-8 Jeff Williams (1st flight) 182 Days on ISS-13)
  
• TMA-9 Michael Lopes-Alegria (215 Days on ISS-14)
  
• TMA-9 ^^Anousheh Ansari [Iranian] (Space Tourist flight for 10 Days 21 hours)^^
  
• TMA-10 ^^Charles Simonyi [Hungarian] (Space Tourist 1st flight for 13 Days 19 hours)^^
  
• TMA-11 Peggy Whitson (1st flight) 191 Days on ISS-16)
  
• TMA-13 Mike Fincke (2nd flight) (178 Days on ISS-18)
  
• TMA-13 ^^Richard Garriott [English] (Space Tourist flight 11 Days 20 Hours)^^
  
• TMA-14 Michael Barratt (198 Days on ISS-19/20)
  
• TMA-14 ^^Charles Simonyi [Hungarian] (Space Tourist 2nd flight for 12 Days 19 hours)^^
  
• TMA-16 Jeff Williams (2nd flight) 169 Days on ISS-21/22)
  
• TMA-17 Timothy Creamer (163 Days on ISS-22/23)
  
• TMA-18 Tracy Caldwell-Dyson (176 Days on ISS-23/24)
  
• TMA-19 Shannon Walker (Mach 25 Soyuz + 100 Days patches for 163 Days on ISS-24/25)
  
• TMA-19 Douglas Wheelock (163 Days on ISS-24/25)
  
• TMA-01M Scott Kelly (1st flight) (159 Days on ISS-25/26)
  
• TMA-20 Catherine Colman (159 Days on ISS-26/27)
  
• TMA-21 Ronald Garan (164 Days on ISS-27/28)
  
• TMA-02M Michael Fossum (167 Days on ISS-28/29)
  
• TMA-22 Daniel Burbank (165 Days on ISS-29/30)
  
• TMA-03M Donald Pettit (2nd flight) (192 Days on ISS-30/31)
  
• TMA-04M Joe Acaba (1st flight) 168 Days on ISS-31/32)
  
• TMA-05M Sunita Williams (126 Days on ISS-32/33)
  
• TMA-06M Kevin Ford (143 Days on ISS-33/34)
  
• TMA-07M Thomas Marchburn (145 Days on ISS-34/35)
  
• TMA-08M Christopher Cassidy (1st flight) 166 Days on ISS-35/36)
  
• TMA-09M Karen Nyberg (166 Days on ISS-36/37)
  
• TMA-10M Michael Hopkins (166 Days on ISS-37/38)
  
• TMA-11M Richard Mastracchio (187 Days on ISS-38/39)
  
• TMA-12M Steven Swanson (169 Days on ISS-39/40)
  
• TMA-13M Gregory Wiseman (165 Days on ISS-40/41)
  
• TMA-14M Barry Wilmore (167 Days on ISS-41/42)
  
• TMA-15M Terry Virts 199 Days on ISS-42/43)
  
• TMA-16M/18M Scott Kelly (2nd flight) (340 Days on ISS-43/44/45/46)
  
• TMA-17M Kjell Lindgren (141 Days on ISS-44/45)
  
• TMA-19M Timothy Kopra (185 Days patch on ISS-46/47)
  
• TMA-20M Jeff Williams (3rd flight) of 172 Days on ISS-47/48)
  
• MS-01 Kate Rubins (1st flight) 115 Days on ISS-48/49)
  
• MS-02 Robert Kimbrough (173 Days on ISS-49/50)
  
• MS-03/04 Peggy Whitson (2nd flight) 289 Days on ISS-50/51/52)
  
• MS-04 Jack Fischer (135 Days on ISS-51/52)
  
• MS-05 Randolph Bresnik (138 Days on ISS-52/53)
  
• MS-06 Mark Vande Hei (1st flight) 168 Days on ISS-53/54)
  
• MS-06 Joe Acaba (2nd flight) (168 Days on ISS-53/54)
  
• MS-07 Scott Tingle (168 Days on ISS-54/55)
  
• MS-08 Andrew Feustel (196 Days on ISS-55/56)
  
• MS-08 Richard Arnold (196 Days on ISS-55/56)
  
• MS-09 Serena Aunon-Chancellor (196 Days on ISS-56/57)
  
• MS-10 Tyler Hague (1st flight Suborbital Emergency Landing)
  
• MS-11 Anne McClain (200 Days on ISS-57/58/59 for 203 Days)
  
• MS-12 Tyler Hague (2nd flight) (202 Days on ISS-59/60)
  
• MS-12/13 Christina Koch (328 Days on ISS-59/60/61)
  
• MS-13/15 Andrew Morgan (271 Days on ISS-60/61/62)
  
• MS-15 Jessica Meir (204 Days on ISS-61/62)
  
• MS-16 Christopher Cassidy (2nd flight) (377 Days on ISS-62/63)
  
• MS-17 Kate Rubins (2nd flight) (184 Days on ISS-63/64)
  
• MS-18/19 Mark Vande Hei (2nd flight) (355 Days on ISS-64/65/66)
  
• MS-22/23 Francisco Rubio (370 Days on ISS-67/68/69)
  
• MS-24 Loral O'Hara (Launched 15th September 2023 (204 Days on ISS-69/70)
  
• MS-25 Tracy Dyson (Launched 23rd March 2024 to ISS-70/71) Not landed yet.
  
• MS-26 Donald Pettit (Launch on 11th September 2024, 2nd flight on Soyuz to ISS-71/72)

It is unlikely that the five "space tourists" received a Mach 25 (Soyuz) patch.

I won this patch on eBay, but it wasn't listed in a space related item section, but was listed in the "Transportation, Automobile Memorabilia, Patches" section in error by the seller. This patch is now in my possession. See the front and back photo/scans below.

posted 07-30-2024 03:27 PM               

As events turned out, we never made it past the 50 patches milestone, so it also became a fitting symbol to mark the completion of our 13+ year adventure.