posted 02-09-2025 09:45 PM               

At the top of this commemorative are the US Naval Aviator Astronaut wings celebrating Williams' service in the U.S. Navy.

Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998. She first launched aboard Discovery STS-116 in December 2006 to serve during Expedition 14/15. On April 16, 2007, she participated in the Boston Marathon while aboard the ISS during Expedition 14.

Williams then launched aboard Soyuz TMA-05M to serve during Expedition 32 and command Expedition 33. In the patch, she holds a torch for two reasons: the Expedition 32 patch featured a torch (the flame depicts the pursuit of knowledge and the importance of education. Secondly she served during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Most recently, Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner Crew Flight Test in June 2024 to participate in Expedition 71, but is also serving during Expedition 72 before returning home on Crew 9 in March 2025. She and Butch Wilmore are the first astronauts to fly aboard four different space capsules.

Other "easter eggs" in this commemorative:

• The orbiter on this patch is from the STS-116 patch

• The Soyuz is from the TMA-05M patch

• The moon and Mars are from the Expedition 14 patch.

• The mission designations are from those mission patches.

Mission Control shared the design of this patch with Williams in September 2024 as a birthday greeting.