posted 08-18-2017 04:05 PM               

Space Cover #431: Astronaut Gene Cernan: A Tribute

Astronaut Gene Cernan, one of the twelve men to walk on the moon, passed away at age 82 on January 16, 2017.

US Navy Captain Gene Cernan was one of fourteen astronauts selected in NASA's third astronaut group in 1963. Then in 1966, Cernan and Thomas Stafford, as the Gemini-Titan 9 back-up crew, became the prime crew upon the tragic deaths of the original GT-9 prime crew of See and Bassett.

Their GT-9A flight was beset with problems, with their Agena target vehicle exploding upon takeoff. Their flight was delayed until a second Agena was successfully launched, but a protective shroud only partially deployed, leaving the Agena looking like "an angry alligator," as observed by Stafford.

A later EVA on GT-9A by Cernan, only the second EVA by an American, was unsuccessful and full of problems, with Cernan calling it a spacewalk from hell (see SCOTW #371).

Cernan's second spaceflight, Apollo 10,was a lunar orbital mission and paved the way for Apollo 11's successful moon landing. Then on Apollo 17, the Apollo Program's last flight to the moon, Cernan, along with Jack Schmitt, became the last of the twelve men to walk on the moon. Cernan and Schmitt covered 22 miles using a Lunar Rover during their 22 hours of lunar exploration and returned 249 pounds of lunar material to earth. Cernan, along with Jim Lovell and John Young, have the distinction of being the only three people to travel to the moon twice.

The cover at the top marks the Gemini-Titan 9A flight and is signed by the crew of Cernan and Stafford. It bears a USN Atlantic Recovery Fleet rubber stamp cachet and is canceled aboard the USS Wasp, the GT-9A Prime Recovery Ship.

These two covers mark Cernan's two lunar flights. The top cover is an Apollo 10 NASA Exchange crew patch/mission emblem launch cover and is signed by the crew. The bottom cover, with an official Apollo 17 NASA/KSC rubber stamp cachet, is signed by the Apollo 17 crew.

This impressive cover was signed for me by Cernan in Atlanta during his "Last Man on the Moon" book tour, and noted by Cernan that he was the 11th moonwalker.

posted 08-19-2017 03:12 PM               

In my opinion, possibly Apollo 15 crew signed covers are more plentiful than Apollo 17's. It's certainly between those two.

posted 08-21-2017 05:16 PM               

I love your Apollo 10 crew signed emblem cover (NASA Exchange), however, it had to be signed by Cernan (and I am sure by Stafford and Young as well) before Cernan flew to the moon as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972.

As Bob and Tim pointed out, from a time period throughout the 1970s and perhaps into the early 1980s, Apollo 17 was perhaps the easiest crew to get signatures from with mail-ins. But I can't recall Schmitt being that accessible until after his leaving the astronaut corps when the scientist-astronaut had been assigned to other non-astronaut NASA duties and throughout his US Senate career.

The Apollo crews of 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15 were good as well, however, Scott was not always that easy until after his Apollo 15 cover episode unfolded in 1972.

Another good-signing crew throughout the 70/80s would have to be Apollo 12, however, Bean was difficult at times in using his autopen.

The same also could apply to Shepard on Apollo 14 and 13's Haise and Swigert, from my recollection, along with Young of the 5th lunar landing mission. Shepard was even known to return covers back to the sender with an added note, "Out of business, AS," or something like that.

Apollo 16 crewmen Young and Mattingly were perhaps, in my opinion, always difficult cover signers during the 70's and post period.

posted 08-22-2017 03:41 PM               

And Buzz Aldrin, after nicely signing covers until the tenth anniversary of Apollo 11, developed a phobia of covers that continues to this day.