Rockwell Signature Blocks

These one-of-a-kind signature blocks from Downey’s Rockwell era are on display at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California. After completion of their mission, featured astronauts toured the former North American-Rockwell facility and signed their name in concrete as a commemoration to their mission and the area on which their spacecraft was built. After several years in storage, these historical pieces are now on view for the public once more.

Among these missions are Apollo XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, Apollo-Soyuz, and STS-1, STS-3, STS-4, STS-5, and STS-26.

About featured signature block:
STS-26
Space Shuttle Discovery
September 29 – October 3, 1988
Astronaut Signatures:
Richard O. Covey, George “Pinky” D. Nelson

Being the first mission after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster nearly three years prior, STS-26 was declared the “Return to Flight” mission. In addition to numerous experiments, the crew practiced suiting up in new partial pressure flight suits and tested the new crew escape system. Our best preserved signature block features a unique sketch of the mission patch.