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Author
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Topic: Space Shuttle Columbia Day (STS-90) cancel
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Apollo-Soyuz Member Posts: 1205 From: Shady Side, Md Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 11-17-2016 01:36 PM
I need information on the "Space Shuttle Columbia Day Station" pictorial cancel used on the cover shown below. Dates of usage and reason for use would be appreciated. I think the cancel was only used 1 day. |
Brian Dumas Member Posts: 17 From: Federal Way, WA, USA Registered: Nov 2014
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posted 11-18-2016 12:47 PM
Finally, here's my big chance to be a contributing member of this forum.The key is the word "station" in the postmark. Stations are frequently set up for a single day, in this case the launch, and can be requested from the USPS by any group or individual for a specific event/date. Since this city in Illinois shared a name with the shuttle, "they" established a station for the day of the launch. The launch was postponed until the next day, but the request for a special cancellation requires 10 weeks notice and it's unlikely anyone requested a backup postmark for the launch. Submissions for pictorial cancels like this must be made to the station no more than 30 days after the event. The rubber stamp is maintained for six months following said event, after which time it is supposed to be defaced or destroyed. All covers submitted to that station should bear that same April 16 date regardless of the actual launch date. |
Apollo-Soyuz Member Posts: 1205 From: Shady Side, Md Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 11-19-2016 06:25 AM
Brian, thanks for the fascinating information. I did not see the connection with shuttle Columbia and Columbia, Illinois. I had this cover in my collection for 18 years and did not see the connection. |
Ken Havekotte Member Posts: 2913 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 11-19-2016 10:29 AM
Don't know for sure about the origin of this particular postmark, but there was a Columbia launch a day later on April 17 in 1998, which was STS-90, the final shuttle Spacelab research mission lasting nearly 16 days in space.Is there a possibility of a relationship (maybe Brian might know the answer) to this particular flight since it was scheduled to fly on Apr. 16 that same year? Maybe one of its astronaut crew members came from Columbia, IL, or nearby in the same county/state? There had been several similar KSC/Cape/Titusville area pictorial hand cancel devices like this that have contained the actual desired launch dates and/or other space events. Some of the artwork for the pictorial postmark devices would be produced in advance, and afterwards if possible, an actual date of the event would be inserted and mailed right away to the designated-in-use post office. The Columbia connection here to the town in Illinois is not unusual, though. Space covers have been posted, some with pictorial-designed cancels, at Satellite Beach, Astronaut Trail Station, and Venus town-names in Florida. Other space covers have come from Apollo and Mars in PA, Jupiter in FL, and even Moon, PA, for Apollo-related, Viking, and other planetary exploration space cover themes. But there are many others throughout the country that contain spacecraft, program, and other space-related names of cities throughout the country. |
Brian Dumas Member Posts: 17 From: Federal Way, WA, USA Registered: Nov 2014
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posted 11-19-2016 12:11 PM
The cancel was for that launch. The postponement meant the folks handling the postmark were stuck with a rubber stamp that bore the (now) wrong date.The stamp is created well in advance and the date is an inherent part of it. Basically, since it's not an official USPS postmark it's not possible to change the date even if the event is postponed. In cases where an event will run several days (convention or something similar), the person(s) wanting a station postmark need to submit a request for each day of the event. Unless someone had the foresight to submit multiple requests for a launch event, they would be stuck with the incorrect date if it changed. Stations like this can have connections to events even if only theoretical, stamp clubs do this all the time (example: the recently released Star Trek stamps could get pictorial cancels from Riverside, Iowa. Why? That's the future birthplace of James T. Kirk). It's possible the Columbia/Columbia connection is a member of the crew, I just assumed it was due to the name but it really could be anything. I have an STS-3 launch cover franked with text from Bethpage, NY since it was home of the facility that built the wing for the shuttle. I hope this clarifies things a bit. |
Apollo-Soyuz Member Posts: 1205 From: Shady Side, Md Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 11-19-2016 01:34 PM
Brian, who paid for the cancel to be made? Who sponsored the cancel? quote: Originally posted by Ken Havekotte: Maybe one of its astronaut crew members came from Columbia, IL, or nearby in the same county/state?
Ken, the pilot of STS-90 Scott Altman was born in Lincoln, Illinois according to his NASA biography. Maybe a connection? |
Ken Havekotte Member Posts: 2913 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 11-20-2016 05:25 PM
Pictorial cancels used by the USPS are usually paid for by the postal service. Most of the special postal cancels used throughout the various Florida Space Coast communities, including all of those that my firm had been involved with, were paid for by the USPS. For John, it looks like Lincoln and Columbia, both located in Illinois, are about 135 miles away from each other. If anyone is interested in doing so, perhaps a phone call to the Columbia, IL, post office of that same zip code might reveal the origin of their prior Columbia pictorial postmark, if anyone there could recall the cancellation event.
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Apollo-Soyuz Member Posts: 1205 From: Shady Side, Md Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 11-21-2016 04:23 AM
I am mailing a letter to the Postmaster in Columbia, Illinois today and will let you know if I get any reply. |
NAAmodel#240 Member Posts: 312 From: Boston, Mass. Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 11-21-2016 06:50 PM
For those interested in space themed postmarks R. Howard Courtney has just written a new book.The 200 page perfect bound book (with bonus CD) can be ordered for $39.95. It is not yet up on the AmericanAstrophilately.com website so contact davidsball47@gmail.com to order. | |
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