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Author
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Topic: SpaceX Crew Dragon cancels and covers
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onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1327
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 05-15-2020 11:04 AM
   
Will there be any special postmark cancels for SpaceX's Demo-2 (DM-2) mission events at Kennedy Space Center (launch), Houston (mission control) and Cape Canaveral (booster and Crew Dragon recovery)? |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3333
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 05-16-2020 09:00 AM
Nothing special here in Florida, besides the KSC headquarters building is mostly closed, and because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak since February, nothing further had been planned for the DM-2 launch in late May. There should be a pictorial cancel available for Houston, however, I am hearing that the cancel design of the ISS for docking may not be available after all. JUST IN (May 17): The Houston special cancel for DM-2 isn't dead yet. There may still be a chance to revive it from what I am being told. |
Apollo-Soyuz
Member Posts: 1292
From: Shady Side, Md
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 06-12-2020 01:50 PM
Was there supposed to be a pictorial cancel used at Hawthorne, Ca. post office? SpaceX Headquarters is located there. All my covers were cancelled with regular round plug cancel with June date. I cannot remember where I read they were going to use a pictorial cancel. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 47463
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-12-2020 01:52 PM
To my knowledge, there were no Demo-2 specific pictorial postmarks, in Hawthorne, Cape Canaveral or elsewhere.The only related postmark was the new changeable date Crew Dragon in Earth Orbit postmark in Houston. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3333
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 06-12-2020 03:50 PM
As noted beforehand, for the record, there were no special Crew Dragon (DM-2) postmark cancels on the Florida Space Coast. There was an earlier interest by my firm in doing something here at KSC/CC, however, as the COVID-19 virus outbreak continued to get worse, such a proposal was dismissed. |
rvk
Member Posts: 26
From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA
Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 08-05-2020 09:34 PM
This is one of a handful of covers (27) that I had cancelled at the Titusville USPO for the NASA SpaceX DM-2 launch. I wanted a postal cancel closer to the launch site than KSC in Orlando FL and Titusville was accepting covers for this event. It's interesting that they use blue ink.  |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3333
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 08-06-2020 06:28 AM
Nice cover with a modern-day Titusville cancel for DM-2's launch. Was this from the main postal facility off U.S. 1 and if I may ask, where did the cachet cover come from? I like the old Zazzle.com SpaceX private stamp issue from 2012 along with the Star Wars postage. My firm used a lot of the Zazzle photo-stamp images on major space events before they were discontinued by Zazzle/USPS for U.S. mail purposes. |
rvk
Member Posts: 26
From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA
Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 08-06-2020 10:33 AM
Ken, I produced the cover myself. The postal cancel is from the USPO at 2503 S Washington Avenue. — Richard Kapp |
OLDIE
Member Posts: 320
From: Portsmouth, England
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 08-15-2020 10:31 AM
Although there seem to be several covers commemorating the launch, and docking of Dragon DM2, I've not seen any for the splashdown and recovery. Were any produced, are are some still in production? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 47463
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-20-2020 06:52 PM
The post office at Eglin Air Force Base is now accepting collectors' requests for two Pensacola, Florida round-date cancellations in support of the DM-2 splashdown. Requests for the following postmarks are available: - Pensacola, FL 32502 "Downtown Station"
- Pensacola, FL 32508 "Naval Air Station"
Collectors are to specify which postmark they would like and mail all requests to: Crew Dragon Splashdown
Eglin AFB
ATTN: Postmaster
307 W. Van Matre Avenue
Eglin AFB, Florida 32542-9998 The deadline for requests is currently Sept. 3, 2020, though that may be extended.Note that requests are not being processed at any other post office than the Eglin AFB Post Office. As normal, to request the postmarks the desired envelope(s) or postcard(s) should be affixed with the proper postage in stamps, self-addressed (or addressed to others of your choice) and then placed into a larger envelope mailed to the address listed above. The USPS recommends inserting a card of postcard thickness into the envelope you want postmarked for sturdiness and then tuck in the flap. Collectors can also send stamped envelopes and postcards without addresses for postmark, as long as they supply a larger envelope with adequate postage and their return address. After applying the date postmark, the Postal Service will return the items (with or without addresses) under addressed protective cover. |
yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 749
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 08-20-2020 08:32 PM
I think these top the $361 Gemini 6A Beck cover with a rare number. Three bidders get a DM-2 splashdown cover from Pensacola to sell at $203, with two more selling at $201 and $175 respectively.$1.10 if sent to Eglin AFB per Robert's post above...  |
thisismills
Member Posts: 461
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 08-21-2020 09:57 AM
In anticipation of a possible recovery in the Gulf of Mexico, several collectors had sent in envelopes to the NAS Pensacola post office directly for cancellation.Like the cover shown above from eBay, the cancellation below is one of those and can be used for comparison to ones received from Eglin AFB that get the NAS Pensacola postmark. It will be interesting to see if there are any differences. Would someone please post an example when they receive it back. Thanks!  Only a guess that bidders on eBay may have been willing to pay a premium to get a cover actually there during the recovery... or simply they didn't know about Robert's post and just had to have it! |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3333
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 08-21-2020 12:31 PM
As Robert posted above, postal authorization has been approved for back-date cancels (within 30 days at least) for Aug. 2nd cancels with two different postal strikes available for the crew landing. One of the cancels will have "Naval Air Station" at top with "Pensacola, FL, 32508" at bottom. A second cancel type will have "Downtown Station" at top with Pensacola, FL, 32502" at bottom as reported by CSM Enterprises, a long-time philatelic associate of mine. Both cancel devices will be located at nearby Eglin AFB and covers can be mailed as indicated by Robert's earlier address posting. From a personal standpoint, I wish the splashdown had been off the Cape instead of Pensacola, but at least, it was a perfect and safe landing after a highly successful mission. |
thisismills
Member Posts: 461
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 09-29-2020 05:33 PM
An update, covers from Naval Air Station Pensacola that were backdated at Eglin Air Force Base arrived in the mail today.  There was a red Eglin Air Force Base hand-cancellation on the left side of my return envelope dated Sept 24, 2020, then processed through Pensacola by machine the same day. The Eglin AFB cover received a black cancel shown in the photo above, as reported earlier by Ken: NAVAL AIR STATION
AUG-2 2020
PENSACOLA FL 32508 Wording differs from the red cancel received directly from the on-base post office at the time of the mission that I posted a photo of back in August, that had this text: NAS PENSACOLA FL
AUG-2 2020
USPS 32508 |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2659
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 09-30-2020 11:51 PM
My covers also came back yesterday. NAS variety, as requested. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 47463
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-05-2021 09:31 AM
With the splashdown and recovery of SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon early Sunday morning (May 2) off of Panama City, Florida, collectors now have 30 days to request a cancellation from Pensacola using either the NAS Pensacola 32508 or Pensacola Downtown Sta. 32502 devices to mark the Crew-1 astronauts' return flight from NAS Pensacola to Ellington Field. All of the details listed above for the DM-2 splashdown remain the same: send your covers to the postmaster at Eglin AFB, Florida for either device. Per Stephen Stein, who organized the cancels, there is nothing to report yet about Panama City, Florida. A proposal was offered to have a Panama City cancellation device sent to Eglin AFB for them to do the processing as Panama City is not set-up to service a large volume of philatelic requests. |
Apollo-Soyuz
Member Posts: 1292
From: Shady Side, Md
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 05-07-2021 05:56 PM
I think all space collectors should write to the Houston postmaster about the superb servicing of our covers now that pictorial cancels have been consolidated to one address. I just received my Crew-2 launch cancels back clearly serviced. |
RAC
Member Posts: 30
From: Colorado Springs CO USA
Registered: Nov 2005
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posted 05-12-2021 12:26 AM
Great covers and postmarks. I sure hope I can get some postmarks on my covers. Sadly I sent a big packet of covers to my servicer and the USPS was kind enough to lose it for me. Yay! So I am redoing the batch and trying again and hope to make the deadline. |
rvk
Member Posts: 26
From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA
Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 10-24-2021 11:37 AM
Attached is one of the space covers that I produced to commemorate the launch of the SpaceX Dragon Inspiration4 mission on September 15, 2021 from KSC FL LC-39A. This was the first all-civilian spaceflight. The artwork on the 49¢ Star Trek NX-01 Enterprise PC postage was provided by The Light Works digital imagery studio and was used with their permission. Sadly, the USPS cancelled the custom PC postage program in June 2020 and this postage cannot be produced again.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 47463
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-30-2021 04:54 PM
It has taken to time to work out the logistics, but cancellation requests for the Nov. 8, 2021 splashdown of SpaceX Crew-2 can now be mailed to Eglin Air Force Base for processing. The normal deadline would be Dec. 8, 2021, but there may be an extension. See upthread for details (address, postmarks available, etc.). |
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