posted 11-16-2023 07:45 PM               

Witnessing the launch of SL-4 as a high school senior was my 14th "live" eyewitness account of a manned space shot and my fifth launch viewing opportunity at the main VIP grandstand site. Invited to see the liftoff up-close by NASA and U.S. Congressman Lou Frey, one of my favorite representatives of our 9th Florida District, the launch and mission always had a special place in my heart. I still have the invite letter from Oct. 30, 1973, as a highlight and memento of that special launch week, "I am very pleased to extend an invitation to you to attend the Skylab IV launch scheduled for Nov. 10, 1973, at 11:41 AM ... Enjoy the launch!"

It was the third Skylab/Saturn IB rocket launch, postponed twice after stress corrosion cracks were discovered in the first Chrysler built S-IB rocket stage stabilizing fins and support beams in the second Douglas Aircraft Company built S-IVB upper stage. The fins were replaced and NASA decided to fly with the second stage cracks. Despite these earlier problems, everything went according to plan, for an 84 day mission around the world by the first NASA rookie astronaut crew while they were living and working aboard the 100-ton Skylab space station. Skylab 4 was the 1,900th rocket/space vehicle launched since 1950 from the Florida launch sites at the Cape and Kennedy.

Depicted are many different all-crew signed postal covers, photos, badges, permits, news and public releases, and more (some with seldom-seen KSC/Orlando Branch
hand cancels on them). In this trio of panel display covers and photos, all are either SL-4 pre-launch events or mostly launch day cancellations posted on 11-16-73 either at KSC, Cape Canaveral, or Patrick AFB with a flown helicopter support cover from the air base. For Antoni, though, please note one of the crew signed covers at the very bottom row which features a SL-4 printed cover from the Madrid STDN tracking station in Spain. Those cachet cover makers on the right side are NASA Exchange, Manned/Space Flight Awareness, Philgraf, Orbit, Centennial, (left side and top/bottom) are by Cape Kennedy Medals, a Bob Whitney RSC, an ONC-KSC and a Rank Space Voyage both signed by SL-4's prime and backup crews, the Space Port Philatelic Society, Sarzin Metallic, ONC/Marshall Space Flight Center, Rand Philatelic Bureau, and a special postcard issue by The Dallas Health and Science Museum, which is another story all by itself.

There are many more crew signed covers (also from the Skylab stamp FDI release in 1974) and photos, etc. not included today, however, around Christmas next month I would like to display another batch of crew signed covers for major SL-4 events that month and in Jan. 1974. In Feb. that same year, perhaps a final batch of SL-4 crew signed covers could be depicted for the splashdown and recovery of the crewmen closing the curtain of our nation's final Skylab stay and longest record-breaking duration spaceflight for more than 15 years.

posted 11-18-2023 10:01 AM               

The top cover is an unusual KSC SL-4 launch cover, that has a small rubber stamp impression that identifies it as a NASA Exchange Store cover. Also as part of its cachet are printed facsimile signatures of the three crew members and an additional rubber stamp impression about the Skylab workshop.

posted 11-20-2023 03:48 PM               

Your same-type printed emblem cover is certainly different with the rubber stamp markings at top and bottom, but both of our emblem covers were supplied by NASA Exchange at Kennedy.

Your blue ink rubber stamp impression at top with "NASA Exchange Store Cover" was not done by the NASA Exchange Council. It was rather produced by Lloyd Bostwick, a long time secretary and treasurer of the KSC Philatelic Society. I've only seen a handful of the rubber stamp-added-on markings, including the Skylab Workshop two-liner text in red at bottom. I think he wanted to distinguish between the emblem cover types of those that depicted a NASA Exchange cachet cover over non-official commercially made covers.

Other SL-4 mission emblem covers, besides NASA Exchange, were produced by Cape Kennedy Medals (usually of two different types), The NASA Johnson Space Center Stamp Club, Rand Philatelic Bureau, and Manned Spaceflight Covers.

posted 11-20-2023 06:11 PM               

So back in the '90's, I found the cover below, postmarked for the SL-4 rescue vehicle (if needed) rollout to the pad. And both Brand and Lind (who would have flown the rescue mission, if needed) signed it for me.

A fascinating "What if?" to think about...