posted 04-29-2017 09:33 AM               

Space Cover #415: Space Shuttle's First Three Landing Sites

On April 14, 1981, Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia landed at Edwards AFB, CA, accomplishing the first of 133 Orbiter landings after successful Space Shuttle flights. Edwards AFB would be the site of 53 more Shuttle Orbiter landings, with orbiters landing at Kennedy Space Center, FL, 78 times, and with one landing at White Sands Missile Range, NM. With Columbia landing at Edwards AFB on the first Shuttle flight, Edwards AFB became the first of only three landing sites used in the 30 year Space Shuttle Program.

The top cover shown above was canceled at Edwards AFB for Columbia's landing there on STS-1, and the cover below was canceled for both launch and landing and was autographed by the crew of John Young and Bob Crippen.

The top cover above, a NASA Exchange "crew patch" cover, was canceled at White Sands Missile Range, NM, for the first and only landing there, and the bottom landing cover was autographed by the STS-3 crew.

Because of heavy rains and flooding, Columbia's landing was changed from Edwards AFB to WSMR, NM, on the Shuttle's third flight, STS-3, and landed there on March 30, 1982. So with the STS-3 landing, WSMR became the second landing site used by a Shuttle Orbiter. WSMR would only serve as a stand-by, back-up landing site for the remainder of the Shuttle Program.

STS-7 was planned to accomplish the Shuttle Program's first landing at KSC, however, weather concerns scrubbed that and Edwards AFB was used again. It wasn't until STS-41B, the Shuttle's tenth flight, that the first landing at KSC occurred.

On February 11, 1984, Orbiter Challenger touched down at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility and KSC became the third and final landing site used in the Shuttle Program.

The top cover above is a NASA Exchange cover originally made available for the first KSC landing planned for STS-7, but later used for the actual first landing at KSC on STS-41B, and the bottom cover is autographed by the STS-41B crew (For those interested in Shuttle crew signed covers, this cover was autographed by the five crew members over a 6-nonth period, requiring five separate mailings to each crew member at NASA/JSC).

We have shown here covers canceled for the first landings at the three Shuttle landing sites: Edwards AFB/STS-1; WSMR, NM/STS-3; and KSC/STS-41B, along with landing canceled covers autographed by each of the three first landing crews.

Look for more Shuttle first landing site canceled covers in follow-up posts. And thanks to Ken Havekotte for providing several covers shown here.

posted 04-29-2017 11:14 AM            

After egress from Challenger the crew went to the Visitor Information Center for an outdoor ceremony in the Rocket Garden which was open to the public.

Always liked going to the quiet little Cape Canaveral Post Office to get shuttle event covers postmarked; and here is one example.

posted 04-29-2017 02:21 PM               

There were such high hopes of achieving the first end-of-mission shuttle landing at KSC during STS-7 in June 1983, but as Bob pointed out, the first planned landing at the Florida Spaceport was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions. It would not occur until more than seven months later!

For Cozmosis22; Glad you were able to attend the Shuttle Challenger/41B crew return-celebration ceremony at Kennedy's Visitor Information Center.

Your depicted Cape-landing cover is most appropriate since the envelope cover was part of a gift shop purchase of souvenir Spaceport-shuttle related stationery envelopes and sheets. The "covers," if my memory serves me correctly, were first available at the spaceport gift shop during the STS-5/Columbia mission of which I was able to acquire several of them for cancel applications in Nov. 1982.

posted 04-29-2017 04:25 PM            

The morning forecast didn't look too good and at the decision point for the last possible deorbit burn KSC was still totally fogged in. That was a big disappointment and as luck would have it by the time of the potential landing the fog had almost completely lifted over the space center.

Had a number of covers with landing stamps already affixed; so went back to the good old CC Post Office and postmarked them there instead of Edwards AFB.

posted 05-01-2017 02:47 AM               

Fortunately, TMSC served two covers concerning it.

posted 05-02-2017 04:10 AM               

I can't recall if anyone had a second cancel applied at the bottom of any similar club covers with an Edwards AFB strike. It would have been possible to mail some of the same-type club covers, with or without a printed cachet on them, over to California for a landing postmark request.

posted 05-03-2017 12:58 PM               

The cover is postmarked at KSC on June 29, 1983, five days later than planned first landing at KSC.

As noted by Ken, a combo-cover with EAFB and KSC postmarks dated June 24, 1983 would be very interesting. Maybe some cachet-maker or collector produced this kind of cover, not seen by me though.

However, I have to communicate that combo-covers are appreciated differently. In Europe they are collected but are not top priorities, as happens in USA where they are more valuable.

On the other hand, in Astro FIP Regulations/Guidelines combo-covers are not considered the best material to develop an astrophilatelic exhibit.

In my particular case I have exceptionally used combo-covers in competitive exhibitions.

posted 05-07-2017 10:45 AM               

The red, rectangular rubber stamp cachets were generally applied fairly light and 1,500 landing covers received this cachet, with this being a typical example of the cachet. This cover was first canceled at KSC for STS-3 launch and then at WSMR for landing, and later nicely signed by the STS-3 crew.

The bottom cover is a nicely done four-cancel production by space cover servicer Ken Havekotte for the Shuttle's first landing at KSC on STS-41B. The four cancels are from four KSC-area post offices and all dated on KSC landing-day.

posted 05-15-2017 03:21 AM            

Edwards

WSMR

KSC