posted 11-05-2023 08:59 AM               

Space Cover 726: My Mom Heard The Landing!

We all collect space covers for a reason and all of these reasons are different. Sometimes a simple looking cover means a little something extra to the collector. Following Antoni's last post I have here a memento that is in fact a cover.

Living in Central Florida we were always subject to the twin sonic booms announcing the arrival of a Space Shuttle heading for a landing at Kennedy Space Center. Sometimes they were loud and shook the building. Sometimes they were quite muffled. It all depended on the ground track. Visitors to the area would sometimes be woken up by an early morning landing. Space Cadets like me were always awake and sitting with the patio door open watching NASA TV waiting for the sonic booms and the subsequent landing. I miss those days.

Pictured here is a cover commemorating STS-133 and the final landing of Space Shuttle Discovery. It has been signed by Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore. He was the Weather Capcom for the landing and has indicated that under his signature. What makes this cover a little bit more special to me is that my parents were visiting and my mom got to hear the sonic booms for the first time! My dad had heard them once or twice before but it was nice to be sitting in my living room with my wife and parents watching the landing and hearing the sonic booms. Mom got a real kick out of it. When I sent this cover to Butch Wilmore for his signature I mentioned that my mom got to hear the sonic booms. He graciously signed the cover and added the additional information. It makes a truly nice personal memento out of a simple looking cover.

What covers in your collection have personal meaning to you?

posted 11-07-2023 05:56 PM               

At that time I had only been a space cover collector for a few years, knew nobody else in the hobby, and happened to read in the Astrophile that the Space Unit was having a convention in conjunction with Ameripex in Chicago that summer. So I packed up a small folder of duplicate covers (having heard about the infamous trade sessions at SU get-togethers), and went!

When I got there I was surprised when someone who looked sort'a familiar was up on-stage signing autographs! I asked who it was, and someone said "Jim Irwin". I rapidly looked through my folder and, natch, no Apollo 15 covers in there for him to sign. And I muttered something to that effect. Immediately a hand came over my shoulder from behind, holding the cover below (un-autographed) in their hand, and the voice attached said "Now you have one". It was Bob Boyd, along with Ray Cartier (SCOTW author Cvrlvr99). Both became lifelong friends and mentors in this hobby! I'm forever grateful to Bob's kind gesture...

posted 11-19-2023 05:00 PM               

You were not alone in not knowing that Irwin had planned to visit the SU-meeting
even though it had been arranged more than a month in advance. I had invited the Apollo moonwalking astronaut to attend the SU-meet at AMERIPEX in May 1986, one of the nation's largest philatelic exhibitions, and to help publicize one of the first flown Apollo 15 Sieger moon covers that the crew had gotten back from their U.S. government impoundment three years earlier. We had thought it would be a good idea to auction off one the lunar covers at the big stamp show in Chicago's big O'Hare Convention Center and have Jim give a presentation at the cover and stamp club meet.

When we arrived at the stamp club gathering, two of the club officers were shocked in seeing Irwin in front of them. I had also requested in advance a movie projector so that Irwin could show and narrate a 20-minute film about his lunar voyage. After that, we had planned a Q&A period along with Jim signing some autographs at no charge to audience members. The appearance had been approved by that same officer, or so I thought, for the free astronaut encounter-visit and presentation.

posted 11-20-2023 10:26 AM               

The VIP launch card for Apollo 17 at bottom left was addressed to myself while at KSC's main VIP viewing site on Dec. 6-7, 1972, when I was a high school senior. There was no writing on back of the card since it was being mailed to myself, but the more I think about it now, maybe I should have made some remarks for such an iconic moment of my "early space connection."

But for a more personal connection, note the cover entitled, "Commemorating 100 U.S. Manned Space Launch Viewings (1968-1997)." Our local Florida Today newspaper columnist, Milt Salamon, ran a brief story about my 100th U.S. manned space shot history of launch viewings up-close at the Kennedy Space Center. Starting with Apollo 7 in 1968 and ending with STS-94/Columbia in 1997, I was the second "bird watcher" to have personally witnessed 100 back-to-date or in sequence NASA crewed space launches, mainly from Press Site 39. At the time, only veteran NBC aerospace reporter Jay Barbree had beaten my record. I was No. 2 for many long years!

My brother, a graphic designer, actually suggested to me about designing a special cachet cover in celebrating such an unusual occasion along with a NASA space enthusiast friend. I helped approved the cachet artwork and signed-off on the text at bottom, "Space enthusiast Ken Havekotte of Merritt Island, FL, celebrates his 100th U.S. manned space launch viewing with the liftoff of STS-94/Space Shuttle Columbia from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Havekotte has observed every manned space shot since 1968 as an eyewitness from KSC's "on site" viewing areas, including all 15 Apollo-related liftoffs and all 85 Space shuttle launches." Unfortunately, in setting the record straight, I did eye- witness the early Apollo shots from 7 to 11, however, they were not from the space center itself, but all manned shots afterwards were on center at viewing sites (mostly at Press Site 39 from the mid-1970's onward).

Astronaut Don Thomas, a mission specialist that flew on the 85th shuttle spaceflight on STS-94 in July 1997, surprised me with the below mission montage of a flown U.S. flag and mission patch presented to my company, "Congratulations on your 100th manned launch! From NASA and the crew of Columbia, STS-94," a proud moment of my personal and unusual "space-related career."