posted 01-12-2026 09:22 AM               

• Merritt Island: 32953
  
• Cape Canaveral: 32920
  
• Cape Canaveral Space Force Station: 32925
  
• Titusville: 32780
  
• Patrick Space Force Base: 32925

posted 01-13-2026 04:23 PM               

Not that it matters too much, but geographically speaking, both Pads 40 and 47 are part of the Space Force station, but north of 40 is on Kennedy Space Center grounds, which is Pad 41 (False Cape). That's why when the twin Viking Mars probes were launched in 1975, I had launch day covers cancelled at both postal sites since they were from 41.

Most of the mail from the Space Force station is processed at Patrick, however, there had been certain instances when some station mail did find its way to the Cape post office.

posted 02-19-2026 05:51 PM               

Moon mission mail: USPS to offer pictorial postmarks for Artemis II milestones

The United States Postal Service (USPS) Is ready to "mark" NASA's first launch of astronauts to fly by the moon in more than 50 years.

The USPS on Thursday (Feb. 19) revealed pictorial postmarks for the launch and 10-day Artemis II mission to be available from its Cape Canaveral, Florida and Houston, Texas (Hadley Street) post offices, respectively. Both ink markers were designed with an interchangeable date and month device so they can be used for the launch day and any milestone during the flight.

posted 02-22-2026 07:10 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ross:
Does anyone intend to have covers aboard the recovery ship?

---

posted 02-22-2026 08:00 AM               

There are four mission controllers in silhouette watching the white rectangles which are computer moniters... my query is about the black boxes situated between the third and fourth (from the left) controllers. They kind of lean haphazardly against each other, and are not quite rectangular, and each has a small white dot on them at the base...

It is kind of jarring. I can quite clearly see the symbolism in every other element, the spacecraft over the half moonscape, the mission controllers in their headsets monitoring the monitors, the text telling us where and what we are seeing... and then three haphazard 'boxes'. They are either a representation of box files, or a hidden artist's signature, a paraph or a cryptograph.

posted 02-22-2026 09:11 AM               

Perhaps Alan can now see that the black boxes are actually laptop computer monitors open at an angle and the white dots are at the bottom of the screens. There is no coded initials or symbolism, just a stylized artist concept.

posted 04-02-2026 08:49 AM               

Naval Base San Diego
4070 Surface Navy Blvd.-Suite 1
San Diego, CA 92136

posted 04-02-2026 12:21 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by onesmallstep:
For covers to be cancelled on the splashdown date...

---

They did not respond to mailed in requests for Artemis I.

posted 04-02-2026 12:47 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Apollo-Soyuz:
What are the dimensions of the pictorial cancels?

---

• 3" x 2.75" (76.2 mm x 69.85 mm) for Cape Canaveral, Florida

• 3" x 2.50" (76.2 mm x 63.5 mm) for Houston, Texas

posted 04-03-2026 08:22 AM               

I briefly told him about the history and I think he found it interesting, but explained that he had spent concerted effort lining up his will and his life insurance policies to protect his daughters in case he did not return from this mission.

posted 04-03-2026 11:01 AM               

I am very surprised, given the regulations regarding flown items introduced by NASA way back, that the commander of the first moon mission in 53 years had never heard of them! I know they are separate from flown covers and the Apollo 15 cover scandal, but still they are a very integral part of that historical overview.

posted 04-03-2026 12:58 PM               

The late Dick Gordon had no idea that Beta cloth patches (other than the ones they wore) were flown as mementos. Many an Apollo astronaut had no idea what a Robbins medallion was by that name until they were informed that was the title collectors had given to their mission medallions.

posted 04-03-2026 08:01 PM               

Please disregard the earlier information identifying the USS Somerset (since removed to avoid any further confusion).

Per someone in the know, collectors should address their mailed in covers requests for the prime recovery ship clearly requesting the date of the splashdown and recovery operations as follows:

USS John P Murtha LPD-26
Unit 100440 BOX 1
FPO AP 96694
ATTN: Postal Team

posted 04-04-2026 11:30 AM               

It was about four decades ago when showing Pete Conrad that other Apollo astronauts did fly their mission Beta crew emblem patches. He found it hard to believe that so many of them, if not cut around their emblems, were actually carried aboard their lunar flights as the PPK's were so much space-room limited.

Another astronaut had informed me that the Beta sheets he had with him were actually rolled up together in a PPK along one of the walls of the kit bag.

Regarding their personal Apollo insurance covers back in the day, I first became aware of them during the 1970's by Al Bishop.

Even with the flown Robbins medallions, hardly nobody knew about them during that era. So when a complete Apollo set of them (all 11) by Aldrin appeared in a space auction catalog, I placed a bid. But of course, in those days, my financial situation wasn't that good as a college student.

As it turned out, though, I actually did win that space-flown medallion lot, which if I recall correctly, sold for only about $6K. It was one of my first space dreams that
actually came true, and much early on than ever expected!