posted 03-15-2026 10:45 AM               

Space Cover 849: For Every Turn of a Screw

I remember a comment made many years ago in an issue of the ATA/Space Unit's Astrophile by a collector who was overwhelmed by the huge amount and variety of space covers produced and available for so many minor space tests and events. His comment was something like this: "It seems that there are covers for just about every turn of a screw relating to a space test or event."

Of course, this was a big exaggeration, but did have some merit.

I've looked through my collection and picked out ten covers that were created to mark a minor space flight event or test and have presented them here. In earlier days, I was like many other collectors caught up in the fascination and excitement of space exploration and space cover collecting and bought my share of minor and not overly significant covers (but I'm glad to have most of them).

I'm sure many other veteran collectors have their share of many less-important covers besides me. However, such minor event covers can be of interest and add variety to any collection.

Above at the top is an excellent cover honoring Al Worden with a special homecoming slogan cancel after his Apollo 15 flight (would have been great to have been autographed by him). Below is a cover from the Manned Spacecraft Center Cover Society that is for the Soviet officials' arrival in Houston for joint ASTP mission talks.

Apollo 11 anniversary covers were created and continued for many years, with this one for Apollo 11's 4th anniversary. The Instrument Unit was added to the ASTP Saturn 1B launch vehicle and this cover for that event was later signed by the IU Program Manager.

The top cover came from prolific space cover producer/dealer Sean Marsar and marks the departure of the first orbiter's vertical tail from its builder in Farmington, NY to the assembly plant in Palmdale, CA, and was later signed by the director in charge. Being an X-24B Lifting Body enthusiast, I couldn't resist this cover marking the cancelation of a planned flight at Edwards.

This ASTP emblem cover was canceled for the installation of the hold-down arm ordnance on the pad and is a good example of the many great covers Ken Havekotte created for us collectors. This 2nd cover was canceled for one of many Space Shuttle Main Engine test firings at NSTL at Bay Saint Louis, MS.

This is one of four different cachets that the Ames Research Center Stamp Club applied to collector covers for Space Shuttle wind tunnel tests (later also canceled for the 41-D launch). This 2nd cover was a production of another prolific space cover producer/dealer, Robert Boudwin. It marks an STS-2 launch delay/scrub.

These ten covers serve as examples of the huge amount and variety of minor space events and tests that many of us collectors pursued covers for. And also provide examples of some of the types of covers/cachets available in the earlier days of space exploration.

posted 03-15-2026 12:03 PM               

I especially love contemporaneous covers that would not find place in an astrophilatelic exhibition, but are real mundane historical markers of the specific events in time.

I have so many, from mission concept, flight planning, pre-launch events, mission highlights, to official post-mission events and visits! But here are just two for the moment...

Gordon Cooper took off in MA-9, the final Mercury programme firing, on 15 May 1963 for a 22-orbit flight around the world. It was of course a purely American mission intent in purpose in furthering the achievement of landing a man on the moon for the USA. Most covers celebrate either the launch or the splashdown. These however are contemporaneous for the event but from a foreign viewpoint, highlighting the mission from the perspective of Australia and Israel during specific timelines within the flight relevant to the two nations.

posted 03-15-2026 02:09 PM               

As a new space cover collector, canceller, and servicer throughout the ASTP and early shuttle program years, I had not been in favor nor support of so many minor activities and events that were asked of me to do for many dealers, mainly by Bob Boudwin and Robert Rank.

But such events were processed by SCCS rather minor or not, however, in looking back, it still does bother me a bit of why a collector would even care for an ASTP hold-down arm ordnance installment in July 1975. During those years, though, I did what they told me to do and kept a few extras myself.

Those provided by Bob, as a whole, I am fine with for astronaut hometown slogan cancels, Soviet team arrivals, most anniversary events, and major weather cancelled flights being rescheduled. But of course, those are only my own opinions, as "to each his own."

posted 03-16-2026 10:38 AM               

But their very existence isn't something to bemoan.

Just because we (you and I) do not collect "ASTP hold-down arm ordnance installment in July 1975" covers does not mean they are historically insignificant. Potentially in 3,000 years time it may be the only evidence left on Earth that the ASTP program ever existed. And future historians will be writing theses on why anybody produced the cover.