Posts: 1397
From: Staten Island, New York USA
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From: Woodbridge, VA
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Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

Posts: 1397
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 08-26-2022 12:12 PM               

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I sent in three covers for hand cancels at the KSC and CC post offices (one is a vintage Apollo 17 launch cover, to have a 'then and now' collection). I know the splashdown and recovery is more than a month away, but it's good to plan ahead.

Being that the splashdown will occur in the Pacific Ocean, the closest post offices on the coast of California will likely be at Naval Base San Diego (Coronado), and Los Angeles/San Pedro. I don't recall if any of these locations were used for Orion event covers during testing or training.

We do know that the recovery ship is the USS John P Murtha, homeport San Diego. But will it have an onboard cancel or one provided to a land post office for cover servicing? We'll have to wait and see.

Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 08-27-2022 10:58 AM               

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Getting ready for the mega launch of NASA's new Space Launch System of Artemis and Orion. I am planning to use several items that you see below for postal cancels at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island, and possibly Cocoa Beach, Patrick Space Force Base, and Titusville depending on time and traffic.

There is a cachet launch cover, seen at bottom left row, along with a photo-card and boarding pass that will be some highlight or primary items that I will be working "on site" Monday morning at the Florida Space Coast post offices. The depicted cover, pass, and card are produced by CSM Enterprises with SpaceCoast Cover Service.

Once everything is finished with launch day cancels, etc., I'll post back here of what will become available in cS's Buy, Sell and Trade forum. There will also be a revised Artemis 1 launch cover with the same cachet design, but with a better coloring printing. A few other different cachet launch covers will become available a little bit later on, including cachet covers for Orion's lunar orbit insertion and splashdown-recovery in the Pacific. More to come.

Posts: 1397
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 08-29-2022 10:06 AM               

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Very nice designs, Ken! I suppose with the Artemis I scrub you now have more time to prepare the covers.

A question: Will they have mission info on them (launch time, lunar orbit insertion etc.), or just a color cachet? Thanks.

Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 08-29-2022 10:26 AM               

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They're generic color designs with no event times or other precise information. The cachet design seen at left only indicates the "Artemis 1 Space Launch System" as the "First Uncrewed Orion Space Flight" from "Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center."

There will be a second cachet launch design coming soon, but with less text type, along with a few other covers by Lollini that will have more informative text descriptions.

Insert filler cards for the covers would be nice with more printed information on them, however, production numbers for all cachets for Artemis 1 by CSME/SCCS are much fewer than in prior shuttle flight SCCS-covers as a cost-reduction decision.

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Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
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Posts: 3590
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From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA
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Posts: 1397
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posted 12-08-2022 05:16 PM               

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Out of concerns about the weather (a cold front moving into the vicinity), the targeted splashdown point has been moved to off the coast of Baja, California.

Orion, once aboard the USS Portland, will still be returning to Naval Base San Diego, though.

Posts: 1670
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Posts: 266
From: Palma de Mallorca, Is. Baleares - SPAIN
Registered: Aug 2013

posted 12-31-2022 05:49 AM               

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Anyone has seen space covers cancelled onboard USS Portland for Orion capsule splashdown?

At the moment, only seen covers from San Diego NAS and other San Diego locations but not with USS Portland postmark. Thanks.

Posts: 266
From: Palma de Mallorca, Is. Baleares - SPAIN
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Posts: 526
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 02-09-2023 09:38 AM               

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On the 16 November 2022 the first rocket in the Artemis program lifted off from Kennedy Space Center with an Orion capsule. After a very successful mission the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 11th December. The capsule was retrieved by the Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland. Unlike the SpaceX recoveries, there were a number of covers aboard the Portland. The exact number is unknown but is expected to be small. The first cover to appear on eBay is shown below.

This cover sold for an amazing $860.50 with two bidders eventually outbidding each other? Shows what happens when two bidders are determined to obtain an item.

The next cover sold for a relatively sedate $167.50.

The final cover (so far) went for a sightly higher $202.50.

Does anyone know of other USS Portland covers?

Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
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Posts: 2
From: PARIS, France
Registered: Dec 2020

posted 02-21-2023 07:08 AM               

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For non-US members, can you indicate how it is possible to get recovery ship cancellation for future Artemis missions?

Is it needed to send covers in advance or does recovery ship post office accepts covers later on as it is the case for special cancellations from Houston?

Posts: 487
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012

Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 03-02-2023 04:33 PM               

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Here are a few more covers that received USS Portland (LPD-27) onboard ship postal cancellations for the Dec. 11, 2022 Artemis 1 / Orion splashdown and recovery from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

The below depicted covers are the result of many hours and months in trying to pursue Artemis 1 official USS Portland ship cancels by Stephen Stein of CSM Enterprises, West Hartford, Connecticut, with associate/consultant Ken Havekotte of SpaceCoast Cover Service, Merritt Island, Florida.

Stein was able to make contact with the Command and Support Staff of COMEX Expeditionary Strike Force Three located at Naval Base San Diego, CA. This was the Naval unit that was responsible for handling the military-side of Orion's capsule recovery operations in the Pacific and on its return from sea at San Diego. The USS Portland, along with sister ships John P. Muir and Anchorage, were three of the six San Antonio-Class amphibious transport Landing Platform Docks (LPD) of ship types that the Navy wanted to support NASA's Artemis program and the Orion spacecraft recovery operations from a lunar return voyage. LPD-27, the USS Portland commissioned in Dec. 2017, was the chosen prime recovery vessel along with assistance from fellow US Navy ship, USS Montgomery (LCS-8).

The Navy personnel at Strike Force Three approved in having 290 covers, mainly of two cover types with 150 standard-size envelopes and 140 monarch size, on board the Artemis 1/Orion prime recovery ship. The cover project would not had been possible if it weren't for the cooperation and support of the command staff public affairs liaison office in conjunction with NASA.

Most all of the 290 covers received the official USS Portland ship's crest rubber stamp cachet in black ink. In addition, though, of the official ship's applied rubber stamp crest impression, there had been another rubber stamp used on many of the ship covers. It had been a privately-produced rubber stamp cachet, of which two were given to the ship and the USN base at San Diego well in-advance before Orion's return from the moon to help enhance the postmarked Dec. 11th covers.

The commemorative rubber stamp was designed by space artist Detlev van Ravenswaay of Bonn, Germany, also a long-time designer of U.S. Postal Service pictorial cancels for many space-related events since the 1980's.

Altogether, but while not confirmed, there may had been about 400 or more shipboard covers of all categories for Orion's splashdown and recovery by the USS Portland.

Posts: 526
From: Australia
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Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
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posted 03-07-2023 08:49 AM               

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To my knowledge Ross, Stein, myself, along with another space cover handler still have the majority of our 290 in our possession. I've only let go four of mine thus far that were complimentary with another at a moderate (low) price as a private sale.

Mine are limited with the only intention of using most that I have as gifts and for trading with fellow space collectors. I was never an avid or serious recovery ship cover collector, just mainly with prime ships signed by the returning astronaut crews and others.

Posts: 3590
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001