Space Shuttle Challenger's Fallen Flags and Patches, 30 Years Later

The flags and patches were found the next day, floating in the Atlantic Ocean, among the debris from the fallen space shuttle Challenger. The nylon banners and embroidered emblems, packaged in watertight pouches, were intended for NASA employees and other supporters of the 51-L mission, to be distributed after Challenger and its seven-member crew returned from orbiting the Earth for six days. Originally put on the orbiter as mementos of NASA's 25th space shuttle mission, the flags and patches no