posted 10-27-2018 03:16 PM               

Space Cover #489: NASA's 60th Anniversary

October 1, 2018 was the 60th anniversary of the establishment of NASA, the successor of NACA, the National Committee for Aeronautics, founded in 1915. Congress passed the National Aviation and Space Act of 1958, which transferred control of the nation's aviation and space programs from NACA to NASA.

The cover and cachet at the top was canceled in 1978 for NASA's 20th anniversary and then had autographed by the first five NASA Administrators: T. Keith Glennan, James Webb, Thomas Paine, James Fletcher and Robert Frosh. Most of the autographs were obtained in 1979, with Webb's autograph applied many years later in 2006.

The second cover was canceled in Washington DC and was then autographed by seven top NASA leaders with almost all the autographs applied in 1982. To accomplish this, seven separate mailings were required.

Those signing:

• George Mueller, Director of the Office of Manned Spaceflight, 1963-69.
  
• Robert Gilruth, First Director of NASA's MSCC
  
• Samuel Phillips, Director of Apollo Lunar Landing Program, 1964-69
  
• Rocco Petrone, KSC Launch Director, 1966-69
  
• George Low, Manager of Apollo Spacecraft Program after Apollo 1
  
• Brainerd Holmes, Direct NASA's Manned Spaceflight Program, 1961-63.
  
• Eberhard Rees, Director NASA MSFC, 1970-73

Perhaps some covers were done for other NASA anniversaries.

posted 10-05-2019 08:24 PM               

The second autograph cover depicted by Bob contains some of the pioneering top NASA leaders from across the country at Washington, D.C. with NASA Headquarters, the Houston space center (MSC/JSC), Kennedy Space Center, and the Huntsville space center (MSFC). What an incredible assembly of autographs, with seven separate mailings required, of key space agency officials that got American astronauts into space and on the moon!

In looking back to the new NASA establishment created on Oct. 1, 1958, I thought it would be interesting to know what was the first "NASA" space launch?

Well, it occurred ten days later on Oct. 11 with the liftoff of "Project Able 2" (Pioneer 1) from the Cape atop the second Thor Able launch vehicle (#130).