I was raised on the

NASA’s original logo dates back to 1959 when the National Advisory international launch services Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) metamorphosed into an agency that would advance both space and aeronautics: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After a NASA Lewis Research Center illustrator’s design was chosen for the new agency’s official seal, the head of Lewis’ Research Reports Division, James Modarelli, was asked by the executive secretary of NACA to design a logo that could be used for less formal purposes.
In the “meatball” design, the 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 then there is an orbiting spacecraft going around the wing.
Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn were hired to replace the complex meatball with a stripped-down, modernist interpretation where even the cross stroke of the A’s were removed. During the first design presentation, the proposed system was met with some resistance.
Fletcher: “I’m simply not comfortable with those letters, something is missing.” Low: “Well, yes, the cross stroke is gone from the letter A.” Fletcher: “Yes, and that bothers me.” Low: “Why?” Fletcher: (long pause) “I just don’t feel we are getting our money’s worth!”
17 years later, despite international launch services its winning the prestigious “Award of Design Excellence” by The Presidential Design Awards, NASA scrapped the Danne and Blackburn design and re-instated the “meatball.”
Danne thinks this was at least partly due to how NASA chose to introduce the new logo to its various internal agencies in the first place. He says the redesign was kept secret until letters were sent to every center director… on their new stationary. Those loyal to the old design were offended, and a rivalry between the “meatball” international launch services and the “worm” began.
August 3, 2011 at 15:54
I’m not sure it made sense to go back to the 50’s design in the 90’s without some tweaking or modernizing, or maybe a complete re-design would have been good. Why go back in time unless you’re trying to evoke nostalgia? I would hope with aeronautics and space we move forward not back.
I was raised on the “worm” logo that appeared on one of my first Matchbox sets, a flatbed trailer truck carrying a NASA rocket, accompanied by a radar van. It was iconic. The “meatball” feels old, not worthy of space explores. “Worm” on the other hand looks like something from 2025. To conclude, NASA should come back to the “worm” and aim for the top again.
and with space travel topics going on about the idea of traveling through wormholes, it’s more apropos to go forward with the worm logo than backwards… tho maybe that’s why they went kaput and NASA is no more
I love how their graphic standards web page recommends using Netscape Navigator version 4.0 or above and set to 800×600. I guess I’ve never been a fan of the meatball version, so it is unfortunate that they did go back to that.
Great article, I can’t international launch services help but feel the the very first one (the illustrators version) has the most appeal for me. The missing cross bars in any logo always troubles me, I do believe in keeping things simple but there needs to be a rationale behind it, in this instance I just don’t understand it. I think once NASA starts considering MARS more seriously there should be a totally new idea, something way more inspiring.
Honestly, I dislike the Worm logo. I feel as they were trying to make it “spacy”, by making international launch services it simple and removing the cross in the A as if it was a fashion international launch services forward version. I associate strange, simplified fonts like that (especially in regards to space) with aliens. And although it’s about space, NASA is definitely not alien. It should be very human, very traditional (though timeless). international launch services
The Meatball is a classic branding icon that was there at NASA’s beginning and burned into the collective conscience through its use in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs; it is as recognizable to the world as the Coca-Cola logo.
But… as a designer it is horrible to work with. It is very difficult to place into Opens, IDs, Promos, etc. It was damn near impossible to recreate in 3D… and always must be manually centered because the red vector is not even on each side.
For me, the Worm just looks too simple and dated… international launch services even though it would be much easier to incorporate into designs and build in 3D. Even though I hate working with it… I have to vote for the Meatball… nothing says NASA better than that.
To be honest I’m hard pressed to decide which I like best. The circle de