The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) insignia has three main official designs, although the one with stylized red curved text (the "worm") was retired from official use from May 22, 1992, until April 3, 2020, when it was reinstated as a secondary logo. The three logos include the NASA insignia (also known as the "meatball" [1] ), the NASA logotype (also known as the "worm"), and the NASA seal. [2] [3] [4]
The NASA seal was approved with an executive order by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959, and slightly modified with an executive order by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. [5] [6]
The NASA logo dates from 1959, when the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) transformed into an agency that advanced both astronautics and aeronautics—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In the NASA insignia design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and then the orbiting spacecraft going around the wing.
It is known officially as the "NASA Administrator's Seal" and is typically only used for official correspondence, events and activities connected with the Administrator of NASA. [7]
The original NASA "Meatball" logo was created in 1958 by George Neago, a staff Industrial Artist who worked at the Lockheed Missiles Division in Palo Alto, California. James Modarelli was the Manager of the Lockheed Missiles Division's Reports Department in 1958 and Supervisor of George Neago. Modarelli later joined NASA to become the Manager of the Reports Division at the NASA Lewis Research Center, where he later retired.
The basic NASA "Meatball" logo was selected by US Federal Government staff as the winning entry submitted by Lockheed Corporation/Neago/Modarelli in a private industrial graphics logo competition sponsored by the US Federal Government in 1958, before NASA became an official Federal government agency.
During 1963, NASA and Lockheed Senior Managers decided the basic NASA "Meatball" logo needed to be updated to show renewed and increased government/public interest in the NASA Space Program. Modarelli simplified the seal, leaving only the white stars and orbital path on a round field of blue with a red vector without Mr. Neago's knowledge. This bright Red color diagonal stripe was added to the NASA "Meatball" logo to help represent NASA to the public from 1963 to 1974. [1]
In 1974, as part of the Federal Graphics Improvement Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, NASA hired Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn to design a more modern logo. [8] In 1975, the agency switched to the modernist NASA logotype, nicknamed "the worm", a red, stylized rendering of the letters N-A-S-A. [9] The horizontal bars on the "A"s are removed in the worm logo, with the negative space within each of them suggesting the tip of a rocket. [10] [11]
Danne and Blackburn published a Graphics Standards Manual that would become well respected among graphic designers. A 2015 Kickstarter project raised nearly a million dollars to reissue a hardcover version of the manual. [12] [13] NASA also released a scanned version of the manual.
The NASA logotype was retired from official use on May 22, 1992 [8] by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. The design was used only for commercial merchandising purposes approved by NASA until 2020, when it was brought out of retirement by administrator Jim Bridenstine, and unveiled on the booster for SpaceX's Crew-Demo 2 Mission. [14] [15] NASA now allows the logotype to be used for used as a supplemental graphic to the NASA Insignia (Meatball) in when appropriate and approved by leadership. [7]
The official NASA seal is reserved for use in connection with the NASA Administrator. It is used in more formal traditional and ceremonial events such as award presentations and press conferences. According to NASA Headquarters, the seal should never be used with the NASA insignia, since the two elements are intended for different purposes and are visually incompatible when seen side by side.
Since its reintroduction in 2020, the "worm" logotype has been used only for human spaceflight-related activities,[ citation needed ] featuring prominently on the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station and on the Solid Rocket Boosters of the SLS rocket used for the Artemis I mission.
Unlike most images produced by the United States Government, the insignia, the "worm" logo and the NASA seal are not in the public domain. [16] Their usage is restricted under Code of Federal Regulations 14 CFR 1221. [17] These NASA emblems should be reproduced only from original reproduction proofs, transparencies, or computer files available from NASA Headquarters.
The colors used in the logo are the following: [18]
The NASA logos have been popular and used in popular culture, most notably in Star Trek as an inspiration for its symbols, [19] [20] [21] and particular in US-American culture it has been representing the capability and identity of the United States. [22] Especially since 2017, NASA insignia have become popular fashion elements, after the fashion company Coach received permission for using the then-retired "worm" logo on a line of purses and clothing. After that, additional companies have used the "worm" logo in their designs, and NASA has reintroduced its official use. [22]
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This article incorporates public domain material from NASA 'Meatball' Logo. United States Government.