posted 03-01-2026 09:59 AM               

Space Cover 847: Astronaut Training Flights

The space cover this week celebrates the pre-flight training astronauts and astronaut candidates embark on prior to launching into space for the first time. The cover is machine cancelled on February 9th, 1972 in Houston, Texas and has a hand-written flight details, signed by Joeseph P. Allen.

Allen was selected in 1967 as part of Group 6, the XS-11 (Excess Eleven), the astronaut class famous for having been told by then chief of the astronaut office Deke Slayton, "we don't need you around here." Those that remained were given ground assignments due to lack of space flight opportunities resulting from the cancellation of the later Apollo flights.

Allen stuck around and in 1972 was flying a T-38 over the Gulf of Mexico as the cover this week represents. From this flight, he would still wait 10 more years to fly in space for the first time on STS-5, the first operational mission of the Space Shuttle. The SCOTW is also postmarked on November 11, 1982 the STS-5 launch date on Columbia from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, a nice bookend to the story. Ultimately seven of the original XS-11 members flew in space a total of 15 times, including Story Musgrave the only astronaut to have flown on all five Space Shuttles. A testament to the work and dedication these astronauts put into the space program.

I've included a few other training flight covers from my collection below, they can be found from many different astronauts, aircraft, and locations. Whether carried on the flight or not, these are great additions for any collection wishing to document the astronaut classes and the candidates selected. The dates of the flight themselves typically aren't the most interesting thing about these covers, instead the aircraft type, origin and destination can provide some insight into the astronauts' life prior to their first mission.

Donald McMonagle was part of Group 12 (The GAFFers), this training flight at Edwards AFB, California on July 2, 1987 was one month after his selection. He would first fly in space on STS-39 in 1991.

Eileen Collins was part of Group 13 (The Hairballs), here are two training flight covers, one from her first flight in an F-16, at Edwards on March 23, 1990, just over two months after selection and the next in an A-7D aircraft system test flight from May of the same year. She would first fly in space on STS-63 in 1995.

For the final cover this week, Susan J. Helms, a fellow Hairball flies along with Collins from Offut AFB, Nebraska to Ellington Field, near Houston, Texas, home to Johnson Space Center and the astronaut corps. This cover documents the flight in a two seat NASA T-38 tail #909 on February 14, 1991. Fun fact, this specific T-38 is still flying with NASA in 2026. Susan would first fly in space on STS-54 in 1993.

Thanks for reading!

posted 03-02-2026 06:06 AM               

Although my cover was not flown on the training flight, I think it can be incorporated not only into SCOTW 847, as Anna Lee Fisher was definitely a pre-flight astronaut on this training flight, but would also slot right in to the SCOTW 190 mentioned by Bob, as Ken Mattingly was an active astronaut on this training flight. Also, although he did not sign it, John Young was on this training mission flying the T-38 escort.

The cover celebrates a Grumman Gulfstream 2 Shuttle Training Aircraft flight on 24th August 1978 from White Sands. The Grumman Gulfstream 2 was designed to replicate the glide parameters of an incoming space shuttle. This training flight occupies a place in the three astronauts' careers as marked by the asterisks below.

• John Young - selected with Group 2 (the Next Nine) in September 1962; flew on Gemini 3 in March 1965; flew on Gemini 10 in July 1966; flew on Apollo 10 in May 1969; walked on the moon Apollo 16 in April 1972; * training ; flew on STS-1 in April 1981; flew on STS-9 in November 1983.

• Ken Mattingly - selected with Group 5 (the Original Nineteen) in April 1966; due to fly Apollo 13 but replaced in April 1970; flew on Apollo 16 in April 1972; * training ; flew on STS-4 in June 1982; flew on STS-51-C in January 1985.

• Anna Lee Fisher - selected with Group 8 (the Thirty Five New Guys) in January 1978; * training ; flew on STS-51-A in November 1984.

posted 03-06-2026 09:21 PM               

A few more earlier astronaut training covers that were carried or flown as displayed above. The first at top left is a Shepard signed and notated Project Mercury procedures simulator carried cover in preparation for MR-3 in Oct. 1960, just over seven months before he became the first American in space.

Other covers included are by Karl Henize in a T-38 jet aircraft flight in 1971, a Lunar Module simulator at MSC/JSC signed by Harrison H. Schmitt in 1972 before the final Apollo lunar landing mission, and one of the first Space Shuttle simulation trainings by Joe Engle in Feb. 1972, nearly a decade before the first shuttle orbital flight took place.

There are many others to show, but most of those from other Apollo and Skylab astronauts contained only a few words or a sentence or two of their carried or flight training status. Those shown for now are of Ron Evans for Apollo 17 training and Ed Gibson for early Skylab in 1972.