Assignment patch An assignment patch , or mission patch , was a patch or badge seen on uniform s , most notably on Earth , where their use began in the 20th century . The United Earth Starfleet and MACO personnel continued to use assignment patches to denote the ship , station , or other post to which an individual was assigned , as did the later Federation Starfleet . History . In 20th and 21st century Earth , assignment patches were used on military uniforms and civilian uniforms alike . NASA patches from that era appeared in the Crash - n - Burn Bar in Bozeman , Montana , and at the 602 Club in San Francisco . ( ; ) In the early 22nd century , Starfleet personnel wore assignment patches on the sleeve of their left arm , in a similar style worn during the initial period of space flight on Earth . The uniform was later updated , adding the Starfleet patch to the right arm . ( ) The assignment patch of " Enterprise " NX - 01 was also used as a screensaver on monitor s aboard the ship . ( ) " In the mirror universe , the Terran Empire used the traditional styling from the 22nd century . While the Empire ' s uniforms had several variations that distinguished them from those of the prime universe , they still wore mission patches on their shoulders . By the 23rd century , the mission patch had been replaced with the Imperial insignia . " ( ; ) By 2233 assignment patches had seemingly been done away with , although a badge in the shape of the Starfleet insignia placed over the left breast was a part of the uniform , at least on the USS Kelvin . ( ) Some time before 2256 , Starfleet adopted assignment patch - like variations in these badges , placing smaller symbols inside the Starfleet insignia , to indicate different branches or specialties . ( , DIS ) " This also occurred in the alternate reality created by Nero ' s destruction of the . " ( ; ; ) Later in the mid - 23rd century , Starfleet resumed the tradition of using unique patch emblems for different assignments , albeit placing them over the left breast . These patches usually but not always included the same symbols for the different divisions . The ' s assignment patch was simply the Starfleet insignia . ( TOS ; ) By 2278 , this styling ceased , and Starfleet once again adopted standardised badges in the shape of the Starfleet insignia for all personnel . ( ) Assignment patches thus fell into disuse , and Starfleet eventually supplanted them with combadge s in the shape of the Starfleet insignia . For example , such combadges were worn by the crew of the USS Bozeman in 2278 and the in 2344 . ( ) Appendices . Background information . According to the , the term " mission patch " was " " not spoken in dialog , but was used in scene descriptions in " , where it described both ship and agency emblems . The classic Starfleet arrowhead emblem was created by costume designer William Ware Theiss . " " The assignment patch for the USS " Enterprise " ( NCC - 1701 ) and the movie - era Starfleet assignment badge are very similar to those used by the US Space Command in the 20th century and early 21st century . The assignment patch for was created by Wendy Drapanas , whereas the patch for the was designed by Anthony Fredrickson . " " When Wendy and I had our assignments on the pilot [ " ] , " " recalled Fredrickson , " " one of hers was to design the NX - 01 patch – which was a cherry assignment that I was very jealous she got ! So when Mike [ Okuda ] gave me the " Horizon " patch , even though it was only for one show , I was very happy . " " ( ) Michael Okuda has also designed two real world emblems ; the STS - 125 mission patch in 2009 , and more recently , the emblem for Johnson Space Center ' s Flight Operations . A memo from Robert Justman dated 18 December 1967 discusses the Starfleet arrowhead emblem and individual crew patches . It states " " all Starship personnel wear the Starship emblem that we have established for our " Enterprise " Crew Members to wear , " " meaning that the arrowhead was always meant to be the emblem for all of Starfleet . Further , the crew of the " Antares " was the " " equivalent of the Merchant Marine s or freighter personnel " " and other emblems should be counted as production mistakes .