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  Space Cover 100: Triple Digits!!!

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Author Topic:   Space Cover 100: Triple Digits!!!
micropooz
Member

Posts: 1512
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 03-12-2011 07:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for micropooz   Click Here to Email micropooz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Space Cover of the Week, Week 100 (March 13, 2011)

Space Cover #100: Triple Digits!

Wow, it is hard to believe that we are already on Space Cover #100 -- triple digits! So in that same vein, let’s look at covers from #100's in the space program.

At the top is a cover postmarked for the 100th flight of the X-15 program, January 28, 1964, with an Edwards, Ca. hand cancel and the ubiquitous Boy Scout rubber stamped cachet. On this flight, pilot Bob Rushworth flew at Mach 5.34 (3618 mph) at 107,400 feet altitude to investigate aerodynamic heating, forming part of the database that helped design the Space Shuttle a decade later.

The 100th flight of a "heavyweight" (e.g. metal) lifting body rocketplane took place at Edwards on October 6, 1972. The center cover was machine cancelled at Edwards that day and carries a Space Voyager printed cachet. Pilot Bill Dana reached Mach 1.67 (900 mph) and an altitude of 67,000 feet on this flight of the M2-F3 lifting body, that helped develop unpowered landing techniques for the Space Shuttle.

The 100th U.S. human spaceflight was STS-71, launched on June 27, 1995. The lower cover received a special postmark for this occasion at the Kennedy Space Center and has a McDonnell-Douglas contractor cachet. This flight was the first-ever docking of a Space Shuttle to the Mir space station. The Shuttle Atlantis, commanded by Robert "Hoot" Gibson brought two relief cosmonauts to Mir, and returned one US astronaut from Mir.

These are just the 100th covers that I happen to have in my collection. If any of you have covers for any other 100th flights, please post 'em! Just so you know, the 100th Space Shuttle mission was STS-92, launched on October 11, 2000. The 100th Russian human space mission was Soyuz TMA-5 launched on October 14, 2004. And the 100th Soyuz flight was Soyuz TMA-13 launched on October 12, 2008. I'm not a dedicated Shuttle or Russian collector and I don't have these covers, so please feel free to post some on this thread! If you need me to host your image, just drop it to me in an email.

And on an even more extreme, since I am a rocketplane fanatic, the 100th X-1 flight took place on March 11, 1949 in the hands of Jack Ridley. And the 100th D-558-II Skyrocket flight took place on November 29, 1949 in the hands of Gene May. If any of you have covers for these two obscure flights, you are now my new bestest friends!

Happy 100th!

SpaceSteve
Member

Posts: 428
From: San Antonio TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 03-12-2011 07:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceSteve   Click Here to Email SpaceSteve     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Going one step further...

Does anyone know what the 100th manned space flight was (including Soviet and U.S. missions together)?

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-12-2011 07:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STS-51C was the world's 100th manned orbital spaceflight.

Soyuz T-12 is the 100th manned spaceflight inclusive of the four suborbital Mercury and X-15 flights.

Congratulations to all those involved in producing Space Cover of the Week for reaching your 100th entry!

Joel Katzowitz
Member

Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 03-13-2011 08:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As a side note to the 100th U.S. human space flight cover, the flight was originally slated for STS-70. However, a group of roudy woodpeckers caused enough damage to the ET foam insulation that the repair work had to be performed in the VAB requiring a roll back. The decision was then made to flip flop the schedule and launch STS-71 first giving that mission the honor of being number 100.

As another side note, I designed the pictorial cancel used to commemorate that milestone in conjunction with Ken Havekotte.

Bob M
Member

Posts: 1744
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 03-13-2011 10:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bob M   Click Here to Email Bob M     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Joel Katzowitz:
However, a group of roudy woodpeckers...
Here's a cover "honoring" the Rowdy Woodpeckers

Bob M
Member

Posts: 1744
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 03-13-2011 11:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bob M   Click Here to Email Bob M     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great topic, Dennis. Shown here is another cacheted cover marking the 100th NASA human spaceflight (STS-71), and the other cover (STS-92) marks the 100th Space Shuttle flight. As Dennis mentioned, it would be interesting and appreciated to see additional 100th space event covers.

(Wow! One hundred SCOTW presentations over an almost two year period. I think that we five SCOTW'ers are surprised - and pleased - that it has lasted this long).

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 03-13-2011 01:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great topic guys, and while not trying to brag (oh, maybe, just a little if you don't mind)... the above four cover entries were produced by my firm, including the McDonnell Douglas cachet cover as the company's Kennedy Space Center's Payload Ground Operations contractor.

All of those depicted here are some of my all-time favorite issued cachet covers during a time, perhaps at our peak, when SpaceCoast Cover Service was quite busy preparing, producing, and processing many different kinds of space covers.

Those were indeed -- throughout the 1990s -- exciting times, especially philatelically speaking!

If anyone is interested in any of those depicted covers, just let me know. A few of them here and there are still available.

All times are CT (US)

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