
Maria Varmazis catches up with friend Tim Gagnon aka KSCartist and Susie Morris, Tim's long-time creative collaborator at A-B Emblem.
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Maria Varmazis
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Maria Varmazis
For those of us in the Anglosphere, news coming out of China about its space program often feels like catching up on what we missed while we were sleeping. And you know what nation isn't sleeping when it comes to their space ambitions.
Yeah, China.
Yeah, that's pretty obvious. China's Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or casc, has just reasserted their space program goals and it is all systems go for full send towards more scientific missions aboard the Tiangong Space Station, as well as longer human habitation missions in low Earth orbit on that space station, with upcoming crew staying for up to a year on Tiangong instead of the usual six month crew rotation. And that kind of long stay will provide valuable data for the Chinese space program about how humans can handle the unique stresses of a long space station sojourn. Say that five times fast and all of that information feeds into the biggest of big goals and that is a lunar presence, leaving no doubt about the state of the global space race. Cask also says that they are on track for a crewed lunar landing by China. Of course, by 2030. All of the major components for such a landing, they say, like the the Long March 10 carrier rocket, the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, and the Lanyue lunar lander have all completed development and major testing. 2030 is not that far away, cosmically speaking, and China has its eyes firmly set on the lunar prize, and much more importantly, it has the aggressive funding and technological progress to match. Underestimating what China will achieve is indeed folly. And while China is working hard towards a lunar landing in 2030, NASA is hoping that 2026 will be the year of a lunar loop with Artemis 2. And the latest update from NASA is that after the SLS rollback to the vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space center to check out a pesky helium problem, everything seems to be checking out and staff and crew are saying it is go time for an April launch to the moon. And no fooling, the current Target for Artemis 2 to launch is in the evening of April 1st. And again, a reminder that Artemis 2 will orbit way out and around the moon, but is not a lunar landing mission. But it is a key step towards the United States one day making its 50 plus year return to the lunar surface. And you just know that they're hoping to beat China there before 2030. Whether you're hopeful or skeptical if it'll happen might depend on how the next few weeks go. Regardless, I'm rooting for a successful flight for Artemis 2. Today is March 15, 2020. I'm Maria Varmasis and this is T Minus. And now for our chat today. And I recently caught up with friend of the show and friend of mine, the wonderful and talented space artist Tim Gagnon. And he brought a friend to our conversation, his longtime creative collaborator, Susie Morris of AB Emblem. Now, everyone loves a patch in aerospace. Stick them on a board or on your flight jacket, hand them out at meetups or conferences, buy them at your favorite space store. Who doesn't love a space patch? And Tim and Susie, talk to me about what goes into this very unique and very beloved art form.
Hello and welcome back to Commercial Space Week here in Orlando, Florida. I am Maria Vermazes, host of T Minus Space Daily. And we're going to have a fun conversation. Now, we have a face here who is familiar to me, who I've seen many times here at Commercial Space Week. Do you want to introduce yourself, sir?
Tim Gagnon
Hi, I'm Tim Gagnon, also known on social media as KSC Artist. And I'm just the guy that gets to work with some amazing folks bringing their vision to life.
Maria Varmazis
Just the guy, huh?
And next to me, why don't you introduce yourself as well?
Susie Morris
I'm Suzie Morris. I work at the factory. I'm the sales rep with AB Emblem and I get to to work with Tim on his wonderful art. I get to bring it to life in a patch.
Maria Varmazis
I'm so thrilled that I get to talk to the two of you together now. So welcome. And Susie, why don't you tell me a little bit about AB Emblem. I think a lot of us know, but just for folks who might not just catch us up to speed, AB
Susie Morris
Emblem is a family owned business,
Maria Varmazis
I
Susie Morris
think maybe six generations now at least. We've been doing patches for NASA, for military, for skills scouts. We've had the contract for over 60 years with NASA and so, yeah, we've got a rich heritage. That's amazing company.
Tim Gagnon
I have to interject. I mean, everybody knows what it's like to be awarded a government contract. And it's wonderful. But they have kept the government contract, so they have obviously fulfilled their responsibilities above and beyond and never been knocked off that throne.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah. I was gonna say Ab Emblem is a name that's kind of legendary. I mean, everybody. I didn't want to be like, everybody knows, but everybody does. No, you can't.
Tim Gagnon
They should.
Susie Morris
I mean, I was like, yeah, y' all really learning that at this show.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Like, I was like, I'm just like, oh, yeah, I know abl. You guys are famous. So it's like, I'm thrilled that I get to speak to not just you all who. Who produce them and make them happen, but the artists that you've collaborated with so many times, because that has got to be a fascinating relationship and collaboration between the two of you. I just kind of want to know how that all works. What is it like, Tim, when you want to tell me, like, what's.
Tim Gagnon
How's it.
Maria Varmazis
What's been like?
Tim Gagnon
I start out with trying to visualize what the client is looking for. You know, they have an idea for their patch, whether it's analog mission, like you're familiar with, or even this event patch. And once I bring it, I create my design. I run it past Suzy because she's an expert on what will work with embroidery.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
Because there are limitations with embroidery. You can do, like, a photo sublimated type of patch, but those aren't as in demand or, to me, not as attractive.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah. The texture, there's so much the tactileness of these beautiful patch. I mean, they're really beautiful.
Tim Gagnon
Right.
Maria Varmazis
I mean, there's a reason we all like to keep them up on our walls like they are works of art.
Tim Gagnon
So once I turn it over to Susie and she says, this will work, this won't work, then we make the changes. The client approves the final design.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
And then I turn the client over to Susie to get place the order. She quotes it. She gives them an idea of lead times, you know, pros and cons of different things, and then they place their order, and she delivers.
Cybersecurity Announcer
Yeah.
Susie Morris
Yeah.
Maria Varmazis
He nailed it. He did. He did everything. He said everything. Ditto that.
Ditto.
All right, so I'm curious. I mean, Tim, I know you have a lot of favorite patches that you have worked on and also ones that you haven't, but I imagine ones that you've worked on have a special place in your heart. Susie, I wanted to know of. You must have some faves.
Susie Morris
You know, I learned a long time ago the favorite patch is the next one that's now a very good friend. This is the latest Crew 12, of course. And then there's the latest. This one that you might have seen.
Maria Varmazis
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Tim Gagnon
You know.
Susie Morris
Yeah. The next patch is the favorite. Yeah. But I do love the colorful ones. And you know, when Tim sends ones that have a lot of color in, I'm like, I'm gonna have one of those when it's done.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah, they're definitely. The really colorful ones are really so eye catching. And I know we all have our faves.
Tim Gagnon
You can hold this up if you want.
Maria Varmazis
I don't. Well, it might actually be better if you do it because you're closer to the camera.
Tim Gagnon
Because we can talk about this.
Maria Varmazis
Sure.
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
So, yeah, tell me my favorite answer to the question. What's your favorite patch? Is the next one. But this one is very cool because it was so unexpected. I got an email one day and the Artemis II closeout crew, the people that are gonna be working the white Room to put the astronauts inside of Orion, needed a team patch.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
And so they requested that I work with them. And we came up with a design. And now my imagination is going to the moon.
Maria Varmazis
Foreign. We'll be right back.
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Maria Varmazis
Last year, you did the huge bucket list ice of becoming an analog astronaut. And now something you've made is going to the moon.
Tim Gagnon
Yeah.
Maria Varmazis
What is left for you?
Tim Gagnon
Honestly, I could retire. I really. I don't. I really don't know what. After all of the last 20 years, I don't know what could top it, but I'm just grateful that I still get emails saying, will you work with us?
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
I mean, you know, I'm still inside. I'm still that kid growing up in Hartford, Connecticut, far removed from the space program and just sitting there in awe. You know, the fact that I still get requests now, I mean, you can't ask for better than that.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Susie, what's it like for you, seeing all these beautiful designs, not just for space programs?
Like, sure.
Did they carry a lot, like, a meaning for you? Like, does it make you just go, oh, wow, this is for.
Susie Morris
They do. When I learned, when I first came in and started working with the NASA patches and stuff, when I learned that things that were in that patch meant something to each astronaut, that something meant something to each astronaut, that's where it came to life. Like, that patch truly is telling a story that is bringing in something from every single person that is participating in that, and they're able to put what they want in there to tell the story. And so I get excited about that, and now I'm excited about being able to touc patches that are gonna get her the moon.
Maria Varmazis
What has it been like collaborating over
the years, the two of you?
You must just be able to read each other's minds at this point for
Susie Morris
some of this stuff.
Tim Gagnon
At this point, yeah. Pretty close.
Susie Morris
Yeah. At this point, for sure. And even if someone that he's done art with that I did not see yet and they've come to me, I can recognize it immediately. I'm like, that's a Tim Gagnon art. Like, I know that art.
Maria Varmazis
Your hand is recognizable, Tim. That's the hand of the artist right there. Well, I want to say, speaking of, we did mention it a little earlier about this year's spacecom patch, and it's really beautiful. So I figured if the two of you could maybe walk us through it.
Tim Gagnon
Well, over the last three or four years, the request has been to try to come up with a patch design that matches their initial branding for each event. Color schemes, things like that.
Maria Varmazis
I know you're wearing it also, but I figured if And.
Tim Gagnon
But for this one, after I did that initial design based on their branding that you've seen online, they said, we want something a little bit more powerful because powering the next generation is the. Is the theme for this year's conference. So they were familiar with my work, with my gallery at AB Emblem, and they said, there's a patch on there that's called Explore that kind of captures the imagination of what we have in mind. So we used that Explore design. We modified it, obviously, and then we came up with this design. And I got an email last night from the president of spacecom saying that this is the best patch they have ever done.
Maria Varmazis
Wow.
Tim Gagnon
Ever.
Maria Varmazis
Wow.
Tim Gagnon
I was not expecting that. But you'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take the win. And I appreciate the reaction because, you know, you create something, you know, sometimes early in the morning in your home office, you send it off via email, and you hope, you know, people like it.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
And when you get a reaction like that, you can't ask for better, so.
Maria Varmazis
Great.
Any thoughts as well from you on that one?
Susie Morris
Yeah, I think, you know, just knowing that I. The part I play is very, very small, but I see it out here, and I see other people with the patch, and when you get to see what little bitty thing that you do come to life, it just has a totally different feel to it.
Maria Varmazis
Did it surprise you that so many of us are just big nerds for patches?
Susie Morris
You know, I was quite surprised. I kind of thought, oh, yeah. You know, looking at things that are in the booth and stuff, you know, we might be a pretty exciting booth, but then when people come around the corner and they see it, they're like, oh, patches.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah, we love them.
Susie Morris
You can just connect with them. That's right.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah. And it's like, my husband was a Boy Scout. My daughter's a Girl Scout. Like, folks in the military, like, we love them.
Susie Morris
Yeah.
Maria Varmazis
And as us space nerds, like, I just. Y' all look great. I just. You're kidding out. I love it. Is there anything else that you want to share with the audience about patch making? Patch culture?
Anything?
I just. Just anything we miss, you want to talk about?
Susie Morris
I just, you know, I just want to say that how. How grateful I am and thankful I am that people do want patches, that we can keep this going, keep. Keep the patches out there.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah.
Tim Gagnon
Well, the thing about patches that. That everybody can embrace is that they represent a team effort on no matter what, whether it's this event, whether it's Artemis 2, whatever it is, if you've worked on that, if you're a person that helped put this event on, you can wear that patch with pride, saying, I was part of this.
Maria Varmazis
Right.
Tim Gagnon
Or even if you just attended it as a speaker, you know, you own this patch as much as anybody. So it's a very simple yet powerful memento of something you did.
Maria Varmazis
Yeah, yeah, it's.
And they're beautiful. I. I have a. On the back of my office door, I've got a whole felt board that I've just got all the patches from things. And it's just. It makes me really happy being able to reminisce about the things that I've been a part of.
And they are really beautiful.
Like, they're art objects. They are really lovely. So I look at them all and I like, I tell my daughter, like, each of these has a story. And I go walk through it and
it's like, how wonderful is that?
It's just a wonderful story.
Tim Gagnon
Every patch has a specific story. And there is never anything on a patch by accident.
Maria Varmazis
Right.
Tim Gagnon
Everything is there deliberately.
Maria Varmazis
That's right.
Tim Gagnon
So that's why it's meaningful.
Susie Morris
Every star has a meaning.
Tim Gagnon
Yeah, that's right.
Maria Varmazis
Exactly right. Yeah. I learned that from Tim last year when you walked me through a lot of that. I remember that well. It was so wonderful talking to you both. Thank you. Thanks for coming over and sharing a bit of your day with me and telling me all about this year's patch and patch making. So thank you so much.
Susie Morris
Thank you.
Tim Gagnon
It's my pleasure.
Maria Varmazis
A quick final note, T minus crew, as you've probably noticed by now, we have transitioned away from doing a daily show and we are working hard behind the scenes on the T minus transformation into a weekly show. And I'm gonna have a lot more to share with you in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I really want to make sure we hear from you about what would be useful to you. As we shift to a weekly magazine style show, space2k.com is a great place to send your feedback. What kind of stories would you like us to cover? What would you like to hear more about? Well, that kind of feedback is very useful. So again, space2k.com we are reading all of the feedback that you all have been sending. And my sincere thanks to everyone who has sent in comments so far. Thank you. That's T minus Deep Space brought to you by N2K CyberWire. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app or you can send us an email to space2k.com we're proud that N2K CyberWire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector. From the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies, N2K helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring you the people, the technology and the ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how@n2k.com N2K's lead producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Peter Kilby is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazas. Thank you for listening. We'll see you next week.
Tim Gagnon
Foreign.
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Podcast: T-Minus Space Daily (N2K Networks)
Episode: Everyone Loves a Space Patch
Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Maria Varmazis
Guests: Tim Gagnon (Space Artist), Susie Morris (AB Emblem)
This episode delves into the unique, vibrant world of space patches—the stories behind their creation, their meaning within the space industry, and their cultural significance among enthusiasts and professionals alike. Host Maria Varmazis speaks with acclaimed space artist Tim Gagnon and Susie Morris, sales rep at the legendary AB Emblem (NASA’s patch producer for over 60 years), about their collaborative process, the details behind patch design, and the emotional value patches bring to the space community.
China’s Space Advances:
NASA’s Artemis 2 Update:
Susie Morris:
Tim Gagnon on AB Emblem’s reputation:
Tim Gagnon:
Susie Morris:
Tim Gagnon:
Susie Morris:
The design journey:
Susie:
Tim Gagnon:
Maria:
Tim:
Susie:
On China’s Space Race:
On the creative process:
On the meaning of patches:
This episode offers a heartfelt, inside look at why space patches are so meaningful to those who create—and collect—them. It's a celebration of teamwork, artistry, legacy, and the stories each patch quietly tells. Even those far removed from the launchpad can "own" a piece of space history—stitched and worn with pride.