NASA Photo ID: STS054(S)001       File Name: 10065407.jpg

Film Type: 35mm CN                Date Taken: 01/19/93

Title: STS-54 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, crew insignia

Description:

STS-54 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, crew insignia (logo), the 
official insignia of the NASA STS-54 mission, depicts the American bald
eagle  soaring above Earth and is emblematic of Space Shuttle Endeavour in
service  to the United States and the world.  The eagle is clutching an
eight-pointed  star in its talons and is placing this larger star among a
constellation of  four others, representing the placement of the fifth
Tracking and Data Relay  Satellite (TDRS) into orbit to join the four
already in service.  The  blackness of space -- with stars conspicuously
absent -- represents the  crew's other primary mission in carrying the
Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer to  orbit to conduct astronomical observations
of invisible x-ray sources within  the Milky Way Galaxy.  The depiction of
the Earth showing North America is an  expression of the crewmembers and
NASA's intention that the medical and  scientific experiments conducted
onboard be for the benefit of mankind.  The  clouds and blue of the Earth
represent the crew's part in NASA's Mission to  Planet Earth in conducting
Earth-observation photography.  The names of the  STS-54 flight crewmembers
are located along the border of the patch.  They  are Commander John H.
Casper, Pilot Donald R. McMonagle, Mission Specialist 1  (MS1) Mario Runco,
Jr, MS2 Gregory J. Harbaugh, and MS3 Susan J. Helms.  Each  crewmember
contributed to the design of the insignia.