INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Paul Calle's July 1975 cartoon poking fun at his own rejected mission patch for the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Credit:
Calle Space Art
Calle's patch design was not the only one ruled out by NASA's
officials.At first, Stafford, Brand, and Slayton chose a design from a contest among the US space program's workforce
The winner, Jean Pinataro of North American Rockwell (the prime contractor for the Apollo command module), came up with a concept that the
astronauts liked, but the agency's leaders rejected it for not having enough "international significance" (unofficially, it was also said to
be "cartoonish").That led to NASA accepting the cost of hiring an artist from the NASA art program and Calle being invited to offer his
It also resulted in the patch that flew.When Calle stepped away, the decision was made to repurpose the work of Bob McCall, an artist who
had designed the Apollo 17 mission patch and in 1974 had painted the scene of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft nearing a docking
McCall would go on to create similar art for a pair of postage stamps issued in the United States and the Soviet Union, while Pinataro
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) patches, from top left to right: 2021 embroidered replica of Jean Pinataro's original design; the Soviet
Soyuz 18 crew patch; the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew patch; souvenir ASTP program patch; and ASTP program patch.
Credit:
AB Emblem/Roscosmos/collectSPACE.com
Today, 50 years later, the McCall-inspired design,
the cosmonauts' patch, and the Apollo-Soyuz program insignia are used interchangeably to represent the mission
Calle's designs have been largely forgotten but are now getting a revival for the golden anniversary."I wanted to reimagine them
Not redo them, but bring them to life," said Chris.Working with a fellow artist Tim Gagnon, who created a number of the mission patches worn
by space shuttle and International Space Station crews, Chris has begun the process of producing a limited number of embroidered patches
based on his and his late father's ideas.Chris primarily focused on Calle's dove and olive branch design."It certainly keeps to the spirit
of my dad's original idea," Chris said.Chris Calle asks readers to contact him via his website to be informed about when the limited-edition
Apollo-Soyuz patches are available.Click through to collectSPACE to see more of Paul Calle's original designs and the reimagined versions by
Chris Calle and Tim Gagnon.
