Space Shuttle Geocoin - Polished Gold

On Jan. 28, 1986, 73 seconds after launch, the Space Shuttle Challenger was lost to us on mission STS-51-L. During her lifetime, Challenger made 10 successful flights, surviving over 62 days in space, and almost 1000 orbits around our Earth. Seventeen years later, during re-entry of mission STS-107, on Jan 16, 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost to us. During her lifetime, Columbia made 28 successful flights, surviving over 300 days in space, and over 4800 orbits around our Earth. Both shuttles had a crew of 7 astronauts. While 38 missions might not seem like a lot for a pair of space craft, it is important to consider scale. Each orbit added over 25,000 miles to a shuttle's odometer!This coin commemorates both those flights, and the fourteen brave souls who were lost during those final missions. The artwork on the back of the coin is an artistic composite of the mission insignias from both flights STS-51-L and STS-107. The tracking number can be found under the hinged bay door.