The Conestoga Flight embodies the spirit of the pioneers as they moved west. They took what they had, they built it, they got as far as they could, and moved on.
This flight is named in honor of Conestoga 1, the world’s first privately funded mission to space, launched September 9, 1982 by Space Services Inc. of America, from which Celestis traces its corporate history. The Conestoga Flight participants embody the spirit of exploration and adventure.
The Conestoga Flight logo displays a Conestoga wagon, the covered wagon that opened the American West to pioneers and settlers. The wagon also served as the inspiration for the Conestoga 1 space mission. Celestis Co-Founder and CEO Charles M. Chafer played a crucial role in the Conestoga 1 mission and personally approved the design of the mission logo to mirror and update the imagery used in 1982 for the first Conestoga flight. The logo displays 13 stars signifying that this was the 13th Celestis Memorial Spaceflight mission, and honors UP Aerospace for their 9th flight of the SpaceLoft XL rocket that carried the Conestoga Flight into space and back again.
The Conestoga Flight logo is from well-known designer and illustrator Eric Gignac. Eric’s portfolio also includes co-design of NASA Space Shuttle mission patches for the STS 128 and 133 missions.
Every Celestis mission has its own logo, mission patch and lapel pin following the tradition of creating a unique identity for each launch dating to the earliest days of the American space program. This is a Cloisonne lapel pin of exceptional quality and detail. This type of lapel pin takes two bronze, die-cut molds, one of the outline of the pin and a second of any cutouts, to create a product rich in style and detail. Each color is individually hand-filled with a powdered glass-like substance and fired at 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. This process helps the colors to hold fast and prevents them from bleeding or smudging. Size: 1.00 inch, secured with a butterfly/military clutch.
