STS-46 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, crew insignia (logo), the official insignia of the NASA STS-46 mission, depicts the Space Shuttle Atlantis in orbit around the Earth, accompanied by major payloads: the European Retrievable Carrier 1L (EURECA-1L) and the Tethered Satellite System 1 (TSS-1). In the depiction, EURECA has been activated and released, its antennae and solar arrays deployed, and it is about to start its ten-month scientific mission. The TSS-1 is linked to the orbiter by a 20 km tether. The purple beam emanating from an electron generator in the payload bay (PLB) spirals around the Earth's magnetic field. The TSS mission will study the dynamics and electrodynamics of tethered systems in space and the physics of the Earth's ionosphere. Visible on the Earth's surface are the United States of America (USA) and the thirteen-member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA), in particular, Italy - partner with the USA in the TSS program. The American and Italian flags, as well as the ESA insignia (logo), further serve to illustrate the international character of STS-46. The names of the STS-46 flight crewmembers are located along the border of the patch. They are Commander Loren J. Shriver, Pilot Andrew M. Allen, Mission Specialist (MS) and Payload Commander (PLC) Jeffrey A. Hoffman, MS Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, MS Claude Nicollier, MS Marsha S. Ivins, and Payload Specialist Franco Malerba. Each crewmember contributed to the design of the insignia.
