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This listing is for an original Apollo 11 crew patch, from the same production run as the patches worn by the crew. This patch is made of fireproof Beta Cloth, and it includes the original envelope. This patch has not been touched since it was packaged in 1969. These were never made available to the public, so they're extremely rare and difficult to obtain. The envelope has some water damage, discoloration, and degradation from 50 years of storage, as shown in the photos.In the early days of the space program, astronauts wore embroidered patches and tags on their spacesuits. However, after the Apollo 1 crew burned to death in an oxygen fire, the entire lunar program was halted while hundreds of safety improvements were made. One of these improvements was a complete removal of flammable material from the spacesuits. NASA developed Beta Cloth for this purpose. The fabric is made of glass "threads" coated in fireproof Teflon.
NASA contracted with Owens Corning to make the Beta Cloth for the spacesuits. In addition, they sent rolls of the fabric to Roma Chemical, who printed the mission insignias and name tags onto the fabric for the patches. This was a very expensive process, so NASA only ordered a single batch of insignias for each mission. This means that every Beta Cloth patch is a literal sibling to the patches the crew wore.
For decades, Apollo 11 Beta Cloth patches were nearly impossible to find in private collections. But then earlier this decade, a box of sealed patches was found in an old Roma Chemicals warehouse. This patch came from that box. The winner will receive the exact item in the photos, so please refer to those for a closer look. Thank you for viewing this listing!
