posted 12-01-2012 07:30 AM               

Space Cover #190: Astronaut Flown Covers

Official NASA policy prohibits private material being carried or flown on NASA events, but through the years collector material has nevertheless been involved in NASA events, tests and flights. Of course, the premier example are the infamous covers flown to the moon on Apollo 15 for a German stamp dealer, but many other covers have been flown or carried for space enthusiasts with no monetary motives. Besides covers flown on the USAF's X-2, the USAF/NASA X-15, NASA Lifting Body aircraft (all these shown in our weekly series earlier), other covers are known to have been flown, carried or located contrary to NASA policy.

This week I've chosen several NASA Astronaut flown covers, some flown on military aircraft by NASA Astronaut Candidates prior to their reporting to NASA, and others on NASA aircraft on training flights. Shown here are covers flown on both Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA-1 and -2), several T-38's, an F-15A Eagle and an FA-18A Hornet.

Above, the top cover commemorates the delivery of the STA-1 Gulfstream II aircraft from Calverton, NY to JSC/Houston. The middle cover was flown on that flight by David Griggs, who was the Chief of STA Operations at JSC and later became one of the 35 Group 8 NASA Astronauts. The bottom cover was flown by Griggs on STA-2's 100th flight.

This cover was sent to Dan Brandenstein at Whidbey Island NAS, WA, soon after being selected as an astronaut, but was flown later on a NASA T-38 after reporting to JSC. The letter from Brandenstein was in response to me advising him of NASA's policy against flying collector material.

The top cover was flown on a T-38A at Edwards AFB, CA, ay Group 8 astronaut Steve Nagel. The bottom cover was flown aboard an F-15A Eagle also at Edwards by Group 8 Astronaut Loren Shriver.

The top cover was flown on a T-38 at Ellington AFB, TX, at Mach .9 by Group 9 NASA Astronaut Roy Bridges, with a notation that this was his First Space Flight Readiness Training Flight. The middle cover was flown on an F-18A Hornet at Patuxent River NAS, MD, by Group 12 NASA Astronaut Andy Allen. The bottom cover was flown at Mach 1.2 by Group 12 astronaut Bill Readdy at Ellington and noted that it was "...a gorgeous day for a flight!"

posted 12-05-2012 12:41 PM               

I've always enjoyed working on projects like this that help to "expand the envelope" so-to-speak as you never knew what kind of response might result. Some
were truly outstanding, as you can see, from several of your depicted covers here.
Nice work!

posted 12-06-2012 02:49 PM               

Besides covers flown on NASA aircraft, like the STA and T-38 flown covers above, covers are known to have been on launch pads (inside the Mobile Launcher Platforms) for Shuttle launches, inside Mission Control at JSC, carried in the Crawler Transporters on Shuttle rollouts, etc.

Because of NASA policy, these signed and documented covers shouldn't be shown publicly but have to spend their days residing quietly in collections.

posted 01-15-2013 04:33 PM               

(Hank, if you happen to see this, thanks for being such a great friend to us bothersome collectors for so many years and for your great service to our country).

posted 01-16-2013 08:23 PM               

In fact in 1991, after speaking to our Space Unit meeting in Houston, Karl came to our after-meeting trade session, cracked open a beer, and traded some of his hand-drawn ASSESS (a SpaceLab ground test) covers for STS-51-F covers that he didn't yet have in his personal collection.

posted 04-02-2016 02:54 PM               

The top cover is from January 1962 and is surely a rare carried cover by John Glenn in a "...Flight Simulator 1/18/62." and nicely signed and documented by Glenn. This was just a month before he became the first American to orbit the earth and surely the simulation he and the cover were involved in were for that historic flight.

The bottom cover is a rare helicopter flown cover by Jim Irwin and as noted by him, was flown while he was practicing Lunar landings as the backup Apollo 17 LMP.