insignia

About a year after I designed my own X-15 program patch, I interviewed Ralph Richardson in Camarillo, California. Ralph was a Life Support specialist, working on the X-15 pressure suit.

Like during all other interviews, I asked Ralph if he had ever seen an X-15 patch while the program was operational. He not only said "Yes," but Ralph went into his closet and pulled out a flight jacket with the original patch still sewn on the sleeve!

Besides his single patch, I have only found one other person who possessed the original version of this patch during the program, and that was pilot Joe Engle.

Gen. Engle is also responsible for yet one more X-15 patch from that time period that did not surface for another 32 years! That story will be found further down this page.

A cleaned-up version of the original patch as sold by the gift shop at the Dryden Flight Research Center in the 1980s and 1990s.

all artwork author's collection, unless otherwise noted

	— Evolution of an X-15 Program Insignia —

	This was the orginal black-and-white X-15 program insignia design that I rendered using the program MacPaint on an original Macintosh 128k in 1984.		Not long after that, I hand-sewed the above patch using a loop and regular needle and thread. Note the original concept of using metallic gold for the border.		A mass-produced version of my patch from 2013. A limited edition of 100 was sold during my presentations across the country, and occasionally on eBay.

INSIGNIA HISTORY

INSIGNIA DESCRIPTION

The X-15 insignia was created by me in late 1984 (above left). During my early interviews I asked if anyone knew of a patch designed for the X-15 while the program was underway. None of the pilots or others associated with the program in those early interviews recalled seeing one. That led me to design my own, going so far as to roughly hand sew the very first patch! (above center) The design was later picked up by Thomas Aviation in Lancaster, California, for mass production and sale during the late 1980s. The patch left the market when Thomas Aviation went out of business after the owners divorced. In 2013, working with patch designer Tim Gagnon, a new production run of 100 patches was created (above right). As a limited edition patch, it has been sold out for many years.

It was later discovered that a patch did exist during the actual X-15 program, but that it was extremely limited in distribution, so much so in fact that I have discovered only one person who actually had it while working on the X-15. See more on this below.

My design signifies the high-speed shock waves of hypersonic flight in the overall shape of the patch as the X-15 pushes through those waves, as well as the shock waves within the patch itself. The deep blue star field is indicative of the high altitude, suborbital flights. Three stars in the field signify the agencies involved: NASA at the top, U.S. Air Force (below left), and U.S. Navy (below right), while the X-15 itself honors North American Aviation, the prime contractor for the rocket plane.

There have been several knock-off versions over the years, often seen on eBay. The one on the left is a blatant ripoff of my design, while the one on the right is more subtle in its approach.

	— The Original X-15 Patch —

	An original X-15 program patch from the mid-1960s.

Ralph Richardson exits the X-15 suiting van with pilot Robert Rushworth. Ralph had just finished helping Bob get into his AP-22/S pressure suit for an X-15 flight.

Two photos of Ralph Richardson with the X-15 patch on his flight jacket.

These are from after the X-15, when he was working on the SR-71 program.

	— The X-15 Pilot Patch —

	The original X-15 pilot's patch from the 1960s owned by X-15 astronaut and pilot Joe Engle.		The artwork I created from the patch in order to make a modern reproduction of Engle's original patch.		The patch as realized by Tim Gagnon. It was intended to fundraise for the National Aviation Hall of Fame.


	THE X-15 PILOT PATCH

		In June 2017, Spacefest VIII was held in Tucson, Arizona. I arranged to have a panel of X-15 people, highlighted by X-15 pilot Joe Engle. One of the very special items Joe brought to share with us was a prototype X-15 patch, where the base material for the patch was from the same material as the outer garment of the X-15 pressure suit! I took photos of the patch with the idea of eventually being able to make modern reproductions of the original, possibly as a fundraiser. Tim Gagnon did produce several variations on the patch, along with the idea of creating a presentation frame which would include Joe's patch, my patch, Tim's 50th anniversary commemorative patch (seen further down this page), and a copy of Mark Pestana's X-15 artwork titled "X-15 into Space." The proceeds from the sale of this would benefit the National Aviation Hall of Fame, located within the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. In the end, Joe Engle decided not to lend his name to the presentation frame, and even more unfortunate is that his original patch was misplaced, and he never found it again after returning from Spacefest.

	Joe Engle shows off the only known sample of a prototype X-15 patch during our dinner at Spacefest VIII on 9 June 2017.

	— Other Designs —

	Sticker art used by Rockwell International (formerly North American Aviation) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the X-15's first flight on 8 June 1959.

Tim Gagnon created this patch to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first X-15 flight in 1958.

All 12 pilots are listed around the perimeter of the patch, and there are 12 stars in the blue field to signify them as well. Note that one of the stars is gold, signifying the loss of Michael Adams during the program.

	North American Aviation patch.		Insignia for the Edwards AFB Air Show in 2009, featuring the X-15.

	Joe Walker Elementary in Washington, Pennsylvania, T-shirt design.		Krun-Chee Corn Chips X-15 Space Coin.

	Patch for the Flight Test Museum.		A NASA logo sticker that has been overlaid with an X-15.