WEAVERVILLE, N.C. — In the midst of countless running threads and bright patches, Andrew Nagle takes time to reflect. 

What You Need To Know

  • A-B Emblem of Weaverville has been the exclusive supplier of NASA’s patches since 1970

  • NASA takes about 600 patches on crewed missions, an A-B Emblem executive says

  • A-B Emblem is a family business founded by E. Henry Conrad, an immigrant who arrived in this country in 1929

These threads and patches hold great responsibilities, but also memories.

Nagle immediately thinks of STS-95, the 1998 mission that sent astronaut John Glenn back to space. 

“I’m in mission control, and John Glenn was in the shuttle simulator training to go up in his shuttle launch,” Nagle said. “There’s this wave coming over me that says, wow, it’s super cool.”

Embroidery at A-B Emblem has contributed to a part of history, and as the co-CEO, so has Nagle.

It has crafted a distinct tie between Weaverville, N.C. and the galaxy, representing a partnership with NASA that is over 50 years old. 

“Our stuff goes to the moon, goes to outer space and is gonna go to Mars one day,” Nagle said. 

On Saturday, NASA scrubbed its second launch attempt of the Artemis I mission because of a liquid hydrogen leak. A separate leak on Monday prompted officials to call off the first launch attempt of the uncrewed mission that aims to orbit the moon.

Related: Another failed attempt: What happened with Artemis I and what happens next

On Feb. 24, 1970, A-B Emblem became the exclusive supplier of NASA’s patches. 

According to Nagle, NASA takes about 600 patches on its crewed missions. 

He began working for the business around 30 years ago. It’s a part of his family.

The company was founded by the E. Henry Conrad, the grandfather of his wife, Lisbeth Conrad Nagle.  

“He was an immigrant, came over in 1929 and couldn't have been more proud to have this little part of the space program,” Nagle said. “For three generations, really four generations now, being involved in the space program means a lot to our family.”

Conrad worked with NASA in 1961 to create its first embroidered patch. The patch was known as the meatball. 

When Conrad Nagle passes her grandfather’s photo at the office, she says hello. She hopes to make him proud.

“My wife’s grandfather once said, ‘Every stitch matters,’” Nagle said. 

This is a value that Nagle continues instilling in the company.

A-B Emblem embroiders patches for organizations ranging from police forces and military service branches, to Girl Scout troops and local breweries.

“It slowly sinks in that what we make is so visible and means so much to people because it helps them identify with what they do, or where they work or their group,” Nagle said.

It has taken an intricate team of members and machines to complete these missions, because it isn’t solely about the appearance of a patch. 

“If it doesn’t run well, it won’t matter how I make it look,” A-B Emblem designer Shannon McDonald said.

Nagle says run time on the machines can take around 20 minutes, but there is much more work that goes into planning and design. 

This is a responsibility that McDonald holds in the company.  

“You’ll see large types of pictures of a lot of the space program patches,” McDonald said. “There’s a lot of inspiration behind them and you can tell. They gave people confidence in their missions.”

As NASA works to launch Artemis I, A-B Emblem continues supplying for the space program, and they are hard at work. 

“What they’re doing is so incredible, we want to get it right,” Nagle said.