Original embroidered patch for the Falcon 9 Flight 20, a space launch conducted by SpaceX on December 22, 2015, from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The patch measures 4.25" x 3.25" and shows a Falcon 9 second stage with an exposed payload bay and an Orbcomm-OG2 satellite orbiting above Earth. The launch location is marked with a gold star, a small four-leaf clover is present in the Atlantic Ocean, and the border reads: "SpaceX, Falcon 9, 0079, Orbcomm-2." The number on the patch ("0079") indicates the seniority of the employee to whom it was issued: the lower the number, the more senior the employee. Low numbered patches are extremely hard to find. In very fine condition.
Falcon 9 flight 20, or Orbcomm OG2 M2, marked the first time that the first stage of an orbital rocket made a successful return and vertical landing. The successful landing of the first stage at Landing Zone 1, near the launch site, was the result of a five-year technology development program. The success of flight 20 marked a significant milestone en route to the company's goal of creating a reusable rocket system that would significantly reduce the cost of launching payloads into orbit.
