posted 08-31-2025 08:50 AM               

Space Cover 821: What Do We Do With These Astronauts?

My selection for Space Cover of the Week this turn commemorates Apollo 16, which was our highly successful fifth landing on the moon. John Young and Charlie Duke spent three days on the lunar surface while Ken Mattingly orbited overhead and kept their ride home in good shape.

Apollo 16 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 27, 1972 and the crew was picked up by USS Ticonderoga.

The first cover pictured was flown on board the recovery helicopter that took the crew from the spacecraft bobbing around in the ocean to the recovery ship. It has an extremely rare USS Ticonderoga machine cancel and is signed by the recovery helicopter pilot. The cover also has the US Navy recovery force rubber stamp cachet on the back.

Most covers with postmarks from USS Ticonderoga were in fact never on the ship but were all cancelled in Hawaii. With this cover being flown on the recovery helo and having a machine cancel would indicate that this cover was in fact on board during the recovery process.

Now, one might wonder what the Navy did with the astronauts after the recovery. Post-flight quarantine was not required after Apollo 14 so there was no need for them to stay aboard ship. In the case of Apollo 16, the crew were transported separately to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii on April 29.

The other three covers pictured were flown — one with each of the Apollo 16 astronauts — from USS Ticonderoga to Hawaii. Each cover was filled out and signed by the pilot transporting the astronaut and indicate as such on the covers. I am guessing that the covers were postmarked upon the aircraft returning to the ship and mailed from there. I have no clue how my dad was able to send for these particular covers.

While much information regarding the recovery forces and the units participating in the recovery operations was published ahead of time, I do not know where or how my dad would have gotten the names of the pilots who were tasked to transport the astronauts to Hawaii.

Does anyone else have covers similar to these?

posted 09-02-2025 03:07 PM               

Your father was certainly one of the premier early space cover collectors and has left you with a wealth of rare, special and unusual covers - we look forward to seeing many more.

Not flown like yours, but this cover has an excellent hand stamp cancel from Honolulu/Hickam AFB on the date of the crew's arrival there by helicopters.