posted 07-04-2010 07:27 AM               

Space Cover #64, Helios Solar Probe Official cachet

This week's space cover is one of the least known of all the official NASA/KSC cachets and is one of the few NASA/KSC cachets to mark an unmanned launch and mission. It is also the next to last NASA/KSC cachet issued, coming between Skylab 3 (SL-4) in 1973 and ASTP in 1975.

Often overlooked as being an official NASA/KSC cachet, this small black rubber stamp cachet was applied to collectors' covers to mark the launch of the Helios-1 solar probe atop a Titan/Centaur launch vehicle on December 10, 1974.

The purpose of Helios-1, and its twin sister probe, Helios-2, launched on January 15, 1976, was to make pioneering measurements of the interplanetary medium between the Sun and the Earth, with a closest approach to the Sun's surface of 28 million miles.

The two covers shown here both display the typical small black NASA/KSC Helios cachet (the only NASA/KSC cachet officially applied in black ink) and a KSC machine cancel dated for the Helios-1 launch. The top cover also has an additional Cape Canaveral, FL hand stamp cancel for Helios-1's closest approach to the Sun on March 15, 1975.

The bottom cover is also a Helios-1 NASA/KSC cacheted launch cover and in addition also has a KSC hand stamp cancel dated January 15, 1976 for the launch of Helios-2.

Of note, a few dozen covers exist with the official Helios cachet but with only a March 15, 1975 Cape Canaveral, FL hand stamp cancel for the Helios-1 probe's closest approach to the Sun. Those few covers were cacheted but failed to be canceled as intended for launch. They were later taken to the Cape Canaveral post office for cancels marking Helios-1's closest approach to the Sun, resulting in covers with the official NASA/KSC Helios cachet, but with Cape Canaveral cancels instead of KSC cancels.

Covers with official NASA/KSC cachets, but with cancels other than KSC cancels are quite unusual. Anyone with such covers are welcome to contact us about them.

posted 07-05-2010 03:24 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by DOX32:
I have the Ralph Yorio 1971 1st edition 1971 catalogue, but it only goes to Apollo 14.

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