When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Scarce vintage Space Shuttle-era ceramic mug featuring NASA Mission Control and Space Shuttle Columbia imagery, personalized with the name “Steve Hayes.”
One side features a colorful Columbia Space Shuttle design with “Columbia,” “YOUNG-CRIPPEN,” and the name “Steve Hayes.” Young and Crippen were the crew of STS-1, NASA’s first Space Shuttle mission aboard Columbia in April 1981.
The opposite side features the period Mission Control emblem with the motto “RES GESTA PER EXCELLENTIAM” (“Achieve Through Excellence”) and the unusual designation “CCT CAMERA SOFTWARE.”
The Mission Control emblem used here corresponds to the Shuttle-era version introduced in 1983 and used prior to the organization’s transition to Mission Operations terminology in 1988, placing this mug within a relatively narrow early-to-mid-1980s Shuttle-program period.
Research also identifies a Steven Hayes who was an aeronautical engineer with documented professional work on the Space Shuttle and later the International Space Station, followed by a 32-year Boeing career. The personalized “Steve Hayes” name and highly specific technical Mission Control / CCT Camera Software imagery make this a strong working attribution to that aerospace professional, although no surviving documentation has yet been located directly tying him to the specific CCT Camera Software group or to this exact mug.
The specialized technical wording, personalized name, and Mission Control imagery strongly suggest an internal or team-related presentation piece rather than a conventional retail NASA souvenir.
Condition:
Very good vintage display condition with extensive age-related glaze crazing visible throughout the cream-colored ceramic, particularly toward the lower body. Graphics remain bright, colorful, and well defined. Gold-tone rim remains present with age-related wear. Please review all photographs carefully for exact cosmetic condition.
Due to its age and extensive crazing, this is being offered as a collectible/display piece rather than for beverage use.
An unusual and apparently scarce piece of early Space Shuttle / Mission Control history with a compelling named aerospace-engineer connection.
