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A Secretive USAF unit,the 1st Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron


Patchcollector
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Patchcollector

Hi all,

Here is a recent find;a USAF 1st Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron patch.This unit was active from

1 December 1985 until 30 June 1989.There is no plastic backing on this piece.

While doing some background research about this unit I discovered some interesting facts.

Did you know that during the 70's the USAF wanted to buy three Space Shuttles and fly them with all Military crews?Due to budget constraints,this never came to fruition,but the AF gained the use of up to 1/3 of all Shuttle launches.And a launch site was prepared at Vandenberg AFB in California to send Shuttles into Polar orbits!

During the mid 80's the 1st Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron was formed.

It's personnel monitored Military Shuttle Flights from a secret floor of NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston.

 

 

Here is some more info I found regarding the West Coast Shuttle launch site and the 1st Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron.

 

Pentagon Leaves the Shuttle Program

By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: August 7, 1989

 

The Defense Department is dismantling a secretive, coast-to-coast space complex that cost at least $5 billion and was intended to operate in collaboration with the civilian space shuttle.
Over the last three years, the department has mothballed a $3.3 billion spaceport in California and scrapped a sprawling control center in Colorado.
Last year, it disbanded a secret cadre of 32 astronauts based in Los Angeles.
Now, in the latest sign of withdrawal, a secret military payload is to be launched on the civilian space shuttle Tuesday without help from the Air Force's Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron in Houston. That squadron was disbanded June 30; this will be the first time the secretive group, which had 134 military officers and experts at its peak, has had no role in lofting a military payload on the shuttle.

 

Here is some info regarding the symbolism of the patch:

 

1st Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron
Emblem Significance:

The flying deltoid represents manned spaceflight, the new and expanding Air Force "High Frontier". The Air Force or coloring symbolizes the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. It is also the primary link between the squadron and it's parent organization. The stripes emanating from the deltoid form an exhaust plume signifying the enormous power and resolve required to fly through the "surly bonds" of the earth's atmosphere. The stripes represent the first group of American astronauts, all military, who were the original space pioneers. The eagle represents a timeless symbol of military strength. The elevated wings illustrated the integrity and professionalism with which the squadron embraces it's mission. The eagle and the deltoid fly above the brittany azure earth charting a course through the ultramarine azure sky, the primary theatre of Air Force Operations. The Star, Altair, literally means "the flier", is a star of the first magnitude. The single moon portrays the vastness of the heavens a reminder of past accomplishments as well as a symbol of future challenges.

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  • 1 year later...
Patchcollector

Thanks for the comments guys.If you do a "Google" search for the "Blue Shuttle" program you will find some fascinating reading.

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