Astrophilately
Encyclopedia
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
connected with astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and efforts to reach outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
, both manned and unmanned.
Scope
Topics of interest include postage stampPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s, cancellations, and covers
Cover (philately)
In philately, the term cover pertains to the outside of an envelope or package with an address, typically with postage stamps that have been cancelled and is a term generally used among stamp and postal history collectors. The term does not include the contents of the letter or package, although...
connected to various projects. Examples include rocket mail
Rocket mail
Rocket mail is the delivery of mail by rocket or missile. The rocket would land by deploying an internal parachute upon arrival. It has been attempted by various organizations in many different countries, with varying levels of success...
, dating from as early as the 1928, and mail actually carried on space flights, a practice that began with Project Apollo
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
missions, and has continued since then. Specialists distinguish astrophilately from topical collecting with a space theme; astrophilatelic items are those with direct connections to space missions, whether or not they include any special pictorial depiction.
The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie
Fédération Internationale de Philatélie
The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie was founded on June 18, 1926 and is the world federation for philately based in Zürich, Switzerland.- Aims :The primary aims of the FIP are:*To promote stamp collecting and philately....
has a Section for Astrophilately. Included are covers and cards cancelled at launch sites, tracking stations, Mission Control facilities, research laboratories, and recovery ships. Many, though not all, such items have cachet
Cachet
In philately, a cachet is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are official and private cachets. They commemorate everything from the first flight...
s produced for the mission; others are recognizable only with specific knowledge of the postmark location and date corresponding to a launch.
Collecting
As with regular airmailAirmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
, items of mail carried aboard spacecraft are known as "flown covers". They are known from both Soviet-
Soviet space program
The Soviet space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the 1930s until its dissolution in 1991...
and American-flown
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
missions. While some types are rare, others, such as space shuttle covers, were carried in large numbers, and are thus relatively common, costing less than US$50.
Perhaps the most common item of astrophilately is the "STS-8 flight cover". In cooperation with the USPS
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, the shuttle flight STS-8
STS-8
STS-8 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission which launched on 30 August 1983 and landed on 5 September; it conducted the first night launch and night landing of the program, and flew the first African-American astronaut, Guion Bluford...
carried several hundred thousand covers, franked
Franking
Franking are any and all devices or markings such as postage stamps , printed or stamped impressions, codings, labels, manuscript writings , and/or any other authorized form of markings affixed or applied to mails to qualify them to be postally serviced.-Franking types and...
with $9.35 express mail stamps, which were then sold to the public after the shuttle's return. The original plan was to carry 500,000, but the final number was reduced to 261,900, of which 2,523 were damaged during the flight and discarded. The remaining covers were each enclosed in a souvenir folder describing the mission and the cover, and sold for $15.35 each. They were sold out by November 1983, just a few months after the flight.
Much rarer are the "Sieger" covers, carried on Apollo 15
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
. German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger had arranged a deal
Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal
The crew of Apollo 15 took 398 commemorative postage stamp covers with them on their trip to the Moon , with the understanding that, when they returned, 100 of the covers were to be sold to the German stamp dealer who provided them...
, in which H. Walter Eierman convinced the Apollo 15 crew members to carry 100 cacheted covers to the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and back, for the sum of US$7000 each, with the understanding that they would not be sold until after the end of the Apollo program. These covers, along with an additional 300 that the crew would keep for themselves, were stuffed in David Scott's
David Scott
David Randolph Scott is an American engineer, test pilot, retired U.S. Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut and engineer, who was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963...
spacesuit pocket, and never listed on the manifest. However, Sieger began selling the covers he received soon after the mission's return, reportedly for $1500 each, and when the whole affair came to light, NASA confiscated the astronauts' 298 surviving covers (two had been destroyed pre-flight), and grounded them permanently. In 1983, hearing of the STS-8 plans, astronaut Alfred Worden
Alfred Worden
Alfred Merrill Worden is an American astronaut who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 Moon mission in July–August 1971. The son of Merrill and Helen Worden, he was born in Jackson, Michigan...
sued for the return of the 298 covers, and the crew eventually recovered them. The covers have appeared on the market from time to time since then. In an October 2000 auction, one of the crew covers realized US$14,950.
Further reading
Astrophilately items may be found in specialised books and catalogues:- Kronstein, Max. Rocket Mail flights of the World, 1986.
- Lollini Conquête de l' espace, 21st edition, 2008.
- Lollini Catalogue des Cosmodromes, 8th edition, 2005.
- http://home.comcast.net/~spacecovers/Space Cover Dictionary & Identifier, Year 2006 Edition
- Weebau Catalogue, 1991. (Supplement 1994)
- Space Craft Covers: A Monograph and Catalog http://spacecovers.com/misc/book_review_1.htm
Societies
- Astro Space Stamp Society
- Belgian Philatelic Society Cosmos
- Weltraum-Philatelie e.V.
- Space Topic Study Unit, Astrophile