posted 04-20-2009 08:58 PM               

Space Cover #1, Columbia's Overland Move

Just over 30 years ago, Space Shuttle OV-102 Columbia began its 38-mile trip from its assembly plant in Palmdale, CA to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB. From there, it was transported by the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to the Kennedy Space Center, and then 2 years later was launched on STS-1, the Space Shuttle's first mission.

Columbia's first journey was philatelically recorded by this inaugural cover in our Space Cover of the Week series. The four cancels on the cover mark the beginning of Columbia's Overland Move at Palmdale; two cities it passed through, Lancaster and Rosamond; and its destination at the Dryden Flight Research Center, where it later departed on its first cross-country ferry flight to KSC.

The cover features a handsome Columbia printed cachet from the Rockwell Space Division Stamp Club (which produced many significant covers for Enterprise and Columbia) and four well-applied hand stamp cancels from four post offices along Columbia's Overland Move route. This cover was acquired in 1979 from the collector who had 15 similar covers canceled along Columbia's route.

posted 04-21-2009 03:00 PM               

But what I do remember is that the collector who provided me the cover is Gene Lachowski, who lived in that area and was active in creating and providing covers relating to activities at Edwards AFB. I'm sure that Gene had all his covers canceled at the 4 post offices on the same day that Columbia passed thru and did them himself with no mailing in. Back at that time, philatelic service had to be provided on the same day as the event with no 30-day grace period like we have today. And because of that restriction, this cover almost certainly was there that special day and traveled along Columbia's route the same day.

posted 04-21-2009 05:25 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob M:
And because of that restriction, this cover almost certainly was there that special day and traveled along Columbia's route the same day.

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posted 05-07-2009 07:29 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spaceman1953:
Interesting cover, but, for me, is what was the reasoning for using the 16-cent Liberty head singles... that was never a first-class postage rate.

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The person who created these covers chose the stamps and I feel that it was a good choice. Perhaps 15c flag stamps would have been a little more appropriate, but I consider these 16c Liberty Head stamps impressive and their blue color matches the blue in the cachet very well.

Back in the good-old-days of space cover collecting, many purists insisted that only space commemorative stamps be used on space covers, but I've always liked to use flag stamps and even some other regular issue stamps that had an appropriate theme.

As far as using space stamps on these 4-cancel covers, the handsome 15c Viking stamp was available, but being twice as large as these 16c regular issue stamps, four of them would have taken up too much room and been somewhat distracting IMO.