posted 09-12-2025 02:10 PM               

Would appreciate knowing what other members of collectSPACE think about the signatures.

posted 09-12-2025 02:25 PM               

Gemini 8 Recovery USS Mason Suspect Crewsigned Space

posted 09-13-2025 04:42 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by onesmallstep:
...so that in itself is a first clue.

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But I do want to point out that during this time, it was not uncommon for people to collect signed blank postal covers that could later be postmarked on important dates. For example, it's entirely possible that someone would get Armstrong to sign a blank envelope soon after he became an astronaut in 1962, and then wait to get it postmarked until his first spaceflight. That way, it would have both a notable signature and a notable postmark. I've seen several items like this in the past. I even own one - an Ellison Onizuka signed cover that was postmarked on the day of his memorial service after the Challenger disaster. Steve Zarelli has certified it as authentic, and noted the postmark on the LOA. So a later postmark doesn't automatically nullify it.

However, I think the nature of this specific postmark does. This is actually a pretty special cover - it was postmarked onboard the USS "Leonard F. Mason" on March 17, 1966 - the date of Gemini 8's splashdown. In other words, this postal cover was actually onboard the ship when Armstrong and Scott were recovered. We know Armstrong didn't sign it at that point, because he would have used his 1966-style signature.

So if this was a previously-signed cover which had been set aside for a later postmark, that means the owner was somehow able to arrange to have it onboard the recovery ship. That alone would be difficult. But it's even more extraordinary when we consider the fact that the "Leonard F. Mason" was just one of several backup ships. It was NOT the intended recovery vessel, and it was on the other side of the planet from the intended splashdown. It only became the prime recovery ship after Gemini 8 was forced to make an emergency landing. For this reason, "Leonard F. Mason" covers for Gemini 8 are by far the rarest of the Gemini splashdown covers.

In short, for this to be a real signature, it would mean that the original owner had a blank pre-1963 signed postal cover, the ability to get it onboard a naval vessel during the Gemini 8 mission, AND the foresight to have it stowed on the exact backup ship that ended up recovering the spacecraft and crew.