NASA Logo

The NASA has three official insignias, 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"), the NASA logotype (also known as the "worm"), and the NASA seal.

History

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.

Seal

The NASA seal 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 Neago's supervisor. Modarelli later joined NASA to become the manager of the Reports Division at NASA's Lewis Research Center, where he later retired.

The "meatball" design was selected by U.S. federal government staff as the winning entry submitted by Lockheed Corporation, Neago, and Modarelli in a private industrial graphics logo competition sponsored by the federal government in 1958, before NASA became an official federal government agency.

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. Executive Order 10849 (Wikisource)

In the seal, the yellow 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 the white arc represents the path of an orbiting spacecraft.

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.

Meatball

Before the seal was officially approved by the U.S. federal government, the first NASA Administrator, Dr. T. Keith Glennan, asked Modarelli to design a simplified version of the seal for informal uses such as signs and badges. This design process was done in conjunction with the finalization of the official seal. The insignia removes the outer ring and two inner spheres of the seal, and leaves the white stars, orbital path, and red vector on a field of blue with the letters "NASA".

This insignia received the nickname of the "meatball" in 1975 from Frank Rowsome, head of technical publications at NASA Headquarters, to differentiate it from the new logotype. The term "meatball" in aeronautics comes from the appearance of the "meatball of light" seen in a mirror by pilots using the optical landing system.

Worm

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. In 1975, the agency switched to the modernist NASA logotype, a red, stylized rendering of the letters N-A-S-A. The horizontal bars on the "A"s are removed in the logotype, with the negative space within each of them suggesting the tip of a rocket. The logotype was derogatorily nicknamed the "worm" by employees who preferred the old insignia.

Danne and Blackburn published a Graphics Standards Manual that would become well respected among graphic designers. A 2015 Kickstarter project raised nearly $1 million to reissue a hardcover version of the manual. NASA also released a scanned version of the manual.

In 2025, the NASA worm logo was included in ''Pirouette: Turning Points in Design,'' an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art featuring "widely recognized design icons ..highlighting pivotal moments in design history."

Reinstatement of the insignia

The NASA logotype was retired from official use on May 22, 1992 by incoming NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, who revived the meatball insignia to boost morale among the sizeable population of employees who never accepted the worm logotype.

The worm was used only for commercial merchandising purposes approved by NASA until 2020, when it was also brought out of retirement by Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and unveiled on the booster for SpaceX's Crew-Demo 2 Mission. NASA now allows the logotype to be used as a supplemental graphic to the meatball when appropriate and approved by leadership. The logotype may continue to appear on its own on commercial merchandise.

Usage regulation

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, 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.

The insignia, the "worm" logo and the NASA seal are not in the public domain. Their usage is restricted under Code of Federal Regulations 14 CFR 1221. These NASA emblems should be reproduced only from original reproduction proofs, transparencies, or computer files available from NASA Headquarters.

The colors used in the insignia are the following:

Red
* Pantone 185
* Process 0C, 100M, 100Y, 0K
* RGB 252R, 61G, 33B
* HEX #FC3D21

Blue
* Pantone 286
* Process 100C, 060M, 0Y, 0K
* RGB 11R, 61G, 145B
* HEX #0B3D91

The red color used for the logotype is Pantone 179; HEX #E03C31.

Popularity

The NASA logos have been popular insignias and have been used widely in popular culture, most notably in Star Trek as an inspiration for its symbols, and particularly as an icon in American culture, representing the United States and its capabilities in space. 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.

See also

* Space Force Delta
* Seal of the United States Space Force
* Flag of the United States Space Force
* List of works in the Museum of Modern Art

References

External links

History of NASAThe history of the meatball vs the worm1976 NASA Graphics Standards Manual
written shortly after the introduction of the worm logotype

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Insignia
Logo
Logos
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Collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City)