posted 05-11-2025 09:17 AM               

Space Cover 805: An ARIA For Apollo 12

As our fearless Space Cover of the Week leader Bob Mcleod has pointed out, I am now in full possession of my dad's amazing space cover collection. It is a shared collection that dad started in late 1966 and I have continued up to this day. Bob said that he is expecting to see many great covers in my future posts. With over 18,000 total space covers I have a lot to choose from! I have in fact chosen to start with a set of covers I know my dad was very proud of.

Before the Space Shuttle deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), a group of satellites that the Space Shuttle used to communicate with the ground, there were major gaps in tracking coverage during critical times during the Apollo missions to the moon. It was quickly recognized that a mobile tracking and telemetry platform was needed to support Apollo. NASA employed the use of 8 specially modified Boeing C-135B aircraft. These aircraft were equipped with a steerable 7-foot antenna dish in what became known as the Droop Snoot or Snoopy Nose.

These aircraft became known as the Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft. They were used to relay telemetry to the ground during critical mission phases such as launch, Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) and reentry and recovery and provided great data during these critical events. Later, after Apollo, these aircraft were renamed Advanced Range and Instrumentation Aircraft and were used by NASA and others in various support roles.

The pictured covers were all flown on ARIA aircraft for the Apollo 12 mission. The first cover pictured, flown on ARIA #1, covered the trans-lunar injection phase of the mission. The second cover pictured was also flown on ARIA #1 and covered the reentry and recovery of the Apollo 12 command module Yankee Clipper. Both covers are postmarked on November 28 in Eau Gallie Florida. My guess is that both covers were flown for both events.

The third cover was flown on ARIA #4 and was on station over Guam for TLI and Australia for reentry. The pilot also indicated that they were the first to obtain coverage of the command/service module separation prior to reentry by an airborne tracking platform.

Dad mentioned to me many years ago that after Apollo 12 NASA cracked down on pilots carrying material to be flown for collectors. I'm sure others were flown for other missions, but these Apollo 12 covers flown on ARIA aircraft were the only ones that my dad was able to obtain. My dad was a huge fan of covers flown in all types of aircraft. These flown ARIA covers were amongst his favorites.

Does anyone else have any covers flown on ARIA aircraft?

posted 05-25-2025 07:06 AM               

These Apollo 12 covers your father had done are a good beginning to what we expect will be many more interesting and significant covers you will present from your father's great collection. He certainly was one of the top collectors from the earlier days of space cover collecting.

Perhaps you might consider a post showing several highlight covers from your 18,000 space cover collection that your father mostly assembled. I'm sure he'd be proud to have some of his prize covers displayed here.