posted 01-22-2007 06:47 PM               

Space Philately is an unusual hobby because space philatelists are actually recording history. Space covers are actually a written record of an event. Space covers are franked by government issued stamps and the stamps are cancelled by government employees. They may have a related cachet and some are further given credence by autographs of individuals related to events commemorated by the space covers. There is no other hobby like this.

Space Philately is an unuaual hobby, but is it a serious hobby?

Space Philately and specifically the Space Unit gets very little publicity in the philatelic press. The Space Unit's bi-monthly journal, the Astrophile, is often issued many months late and the content of the journal is often out of date and articles are often repeated from previous issues. This leads one to the conclusion that the Space Unit and Space Philately is not a serious hobby. There is no vision for the future.

In your opinion, what is the future of space philately? If you are a space philatelist, what do you get out of your hobby and what do you expect to happen in your hobby in the future? Will the hobby grow or will it eventually disappear as the base of the hobby disappears? If there is no growth in membership, there will be no future for this hobby.

posted 01-28-2007 03:33 PM               

What do I get out of it? When I hear the all of the positive comments, it feels good - When I give a seminar and people get into the questions - whether it's the stamps and envelopes, the signatures, or even the artwork that they're mounted on, I can see that there is a genuine interest especially from young people.

What do I expect to happen in the future? Just like any other topic in philately. It will have it's 'ups and downs' (no pun intended), periods of interest, etc. But it is there now and available.

posted 01-28-2007 06:34 PM               

Thanks for your comments and welcome to CollectSpace.com. I was originally from upstate NY also (Cohoes/Albany/Troy).

Do you see a lot of interest in your space exhibits at stamp shows? You mentioned the judges, what do they usually say to you in their critique of your exhibits? Have you ever won any awards? Exhibiting of space philatelic material can be tricky. There are a lot of rules issued by FISA regarding such exhibits. But if you exhibit just for the fun of it, that is OK too.

The Space Unit now had two space exhibits posted on its website accompanied by comments from judges and collectors. Please see the SU website.

Are you a member of the Space Unit? If not, send me your address aand I will send you a membership application and a sample copy of the bi-monthly journal of the Space Unit, the Astrophile. My E-mail address is: York780@aol.com

Good collecting,

posted 01-28-2007 06:35 PM               

I don't know about FISA rules (in fact I don't think I know what FISA means), but I do have a lot of history on my FDC's. One cover has autographs of 6 of the 7 original members of the Mercury project, my prize posession is the moon landing FDC cover actually signed by Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin. The Pluto FDC signed by Clyde Tombaugh and JW Christy. There are a few others, but you get the idea.

And the last words on my exhibit are: Live Long and Prosper