Artist-supplied caption:
I merged the original space shuttle patch and elements of the STS-51L (Challenger) and STS-107 (Columbia) patches to create my entry. The basic shape of the patch and space shuttle on it are from the original space shuttle program patch. I changed the background to an American flag to represent that the space shuttle is the accomplishment of the entire country. The orange swoosh across the middle (behind the space shuttle) is directly from the STS-51L patch, added in memory of the crew of Challenger. At the top of the patch, the gold star, lines, and circle are directly from the STS-107 patch, in memory of the crew of Columbia. On the space shuttle, I added the first and last year of the program.
