Patch Us In: Matthias Maurer, Crew-3

In the next few days, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will be launched into space for a six-month stay on the International Space Station. Along with his Cosmic Kiss mission patch, he’ll also be wearing the official Crew-3 Dragon patch. ESA patch expert Carl Walker explores how these patches came about in our next ‘Patch Us In’ instalment.

The Crew-3 patch worn by the four astronauts of the third crewed SpaceX Dragon flight was designed by American illustrator Gregory Manchess from Kentucky.

In the official NASA description, the Crew-3 patch highlights the beauty of space and the vehicle that is delivering Matthias and his crew of Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron to the International Space Station. The sunlit capsule indicates the dawn of a new era of human spaceflight, as commercial vehicles fly more frequently into low Earth orbit.

The capsule flies beyond the edge of the circular border, representing the international effort that pushes to reach new heights of space exploration. The flames below the capsule represent the of thousands of people who contributed to the US commercial vehicle effort.

Because this the third operational flight to the Space Station, the number three figures prominently in both the shape of the exhaust below the capsule and the highlighted stars. A likeness of a dragon is embedded in the exhaust opposite the three for the capsule's namesake. Four red planets represent the four crew members of the mission, as well as humankind's dream to explore Mars and beyond.

Manchess, who also designed the Crew-1 and Crew-2 patches, has produced spreads for Omni, Newsweek, National Geographic and Smithsonian. His art has appeared on the covers of Time, National Geographic and Atlantic Monthly. He has also illustrated movie posters for Paramount, Columbia and Disney.

In a series of blog posts, Manchess described how he became involved in designing space patches. “Through a convoluted process of attending conventions and patiently waiting for the right timing, I’d met an astronaut who is a fan of science fiction, Kjell Lindgren,” he explained.

“I asked him, seriously, who was doing their mission patch. Several conversations later, I found myself on a Skype call with Kjell, the Crew-1 mission commander Mike Hopkins, and mission pilot Victor Glover.

“I didn’t think they’d actually use my design. I figured we’d get through the process and something would come up that nixed the whole thing, or some NASA rule kicked in that didn’t allow for my design to be accepted.

“I suppose that feeling provided me with a sense of freedom. So I didn’t hold back in presenting ideas of dragons and shapes that I thought would make a cool patch. I finished the final design in late Spring and figured I wouldn’t see it again unless I visited the Johnson Space Center and viewed it sitting along with the myriad of other mission patches on the walls.

“I was stunned when I tuned into the NASA channel on launch day and saw the patch on their shirts, the walls, notebooks, cups, on the pad, in the gantry, and in the white room!”

After Crew-1 and Crew-2, Manchess worked closely with Crew-3’s commander Raja Chari, callsign ‘Grinder’. “Similar to the other patches, Grinder and I worked together deciding on elements to include in the patch. Once the crew discussed the variations, I had a better idea of what to focus on,” wrote Manchess.

“Sometimes talking a few times a week, I would get reinspired by something Grinder might say, and added even more possibilities. For a time there were too many ideas and this only served to slow the process down. Frankly, it led to some confusion.

“So we began eliminating designs. We also wanted to do something different to the other crews’ patches, but also maintain a direction. To make them all distinctive, but familiar. For example, on this one, we developed a full-figure dragon, with the body reflecting the shape of a three, and the tail wrapping the border three times.”

You can read more about Gregory Manchess’s work here:

https://www.muddycolors.com/2020/12/mission-patch-crew-one/

https://www.muddycolors.com/2021/05/spacex-dragon-crew-3-patch-design/