To be fair, SpaceX probably has quite a few things to check before launching a rocket. Life-or-death kinds of things. I don't know, making sure there's enough fuel and things like that. I can understand that ensuring a perfectly centred rendering of the NASA logo maybe isn't one of the big priorities.
All the same, keen-eyed space watchers have been quick to poke fun after a SpaceX rocket blasted off sporting an apparently handpainted NASA logo that looked, well, a little off course. Twitter being Twitter, it didn't take long for people to start offering their own hand-drawn NASA logos as suggested improvements, and they'll have you chuckling all day (if you want to join the fun, see our pick of the best graphic design software).
The NASA logo as it should look (see below for how it shouldn't) (Image credit: NASA)
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket sent a Crew Dragon spacecraft with a crew of four up into orbit this past week, but sharp-eyed viewers of the launch noted that something seemed to be spinning into orbit before the rocket even took off. NASA's iconic star-sparkled blue logo with its red swoop (affectionately known as the NASA 'meatball') was way off-centre.
"Wait… what… what happened to Crew-5’s meatball?" tweeted Florida Today space reporter Emre Kelly. "That's what happens when your logo doesn't have an extensive manual describing its proper usage." someone suggested (for extensive logo manuals, just see the epic new Olympics branding).
Wait…what…what happened to Crew-5’s meatball? pic.twitter.com/JiXJuYRFgEOctober 6, 2022
Wake up, honey, new NASA logo discourse just dropped https://t.co/A4sNSW4ywXOctober 2, 2022
It's perhaps all the more amusing because we know how much SpaceX's Elon Musk loves logos (although the Tesla logo has also been mercilessly ridiculed for its hilarious resemblance to something).
"Wake up, honey, new NASA logo discourse just dropped," tweeted an account that's named Worm Evangelist in reference to the 'NASA worm', a fiercely defended rival to the NASA meatball logo. Meanwhile, others, including the spaceflight photographer Nick B, have taken to the task of fixing things for SpaceX with their own hilariously homemade attempts to recreate the NASA logo (and SpaceX's logo too). "You have created a whole genre," one person observes.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
