A Successful Launch to the International Space Station

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Credit Kirill Kudryavtsev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

NASA loves mission patches. Since the Gemini 5 mission, 50 years ago, each mission has designed an embroidered patch, often crammed with symbols.

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The design for the one-year mission to the International Space Station is no exception. The large number 1 and the orbital path around the sun both represent one year. The tilted orbital path represents the station’s inclined orbit. The number 1 is filled with the American and Russian flags, above the last names of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko.