posted 05-19-2024 09:35 AM               

Space Cover 754: Metered Postage

Above is a cover metered at the Northrop Aircraft Plant in Hawthorne, CA (currently a SpaceX plant), where the M2F2 lifting body rocketplane was built, on the date of the M2F2's first flight, July 12, 1966. Northrop had customized the meter with a common mantra in the aerospace industry in the 1960's – "Zero Defects". The cachet was designed and applied by the Northrop Stamp Club. More SCOTW 648.

So what's a meter? Per the USPS website:

Postage meters are postage printing machines or systems leased by authorized providers for use in your home or office. Meters print postage directly onto your mail or onto a meter tape, which you affix to your mail. Postage meters can be used for all mail services except periodicals. Metered mail must have the actual date of mailing. Metered mail does not require a postmark as the postmark information (city, state, ZIP Code, and date) is included within the meter strip.

So the metered postage represents both the stamp and the cancellation on a cover, like the above. And quite often, companies would customize their meter strips (like above) to fit their product line. These can really dress up a cover collection! Here are a couple other interesting meters:

McDonnell Aircraft (makers of the Mercury and Gemini capsules) in St. Louis put out meters for the crewed Mercury orbital flights, Gemini flights, and some Apollo flights. The MA8 Sigma 7 cover is shown above. McDonnell customized the meter to include an artist's impression of a Mercury capsule in orbit, with the words "Project Mercury, McDonnell, Manned Orbital Flight". The cachet is a knockoff of the artwork from the Orbit Cachet for that flight, and I'm not sure if it was applied by McDonnell or someone else. More info on the McDonnell meters can be found in SCOTW 229.

The Manned Space Flight Network's Goldstone station in Barstow, CA had a spiffy meter that they applied to covers for missions they supported. The meter was customized with a drawing of the Goldstone antenna, and the words "Goldstone Space Communications Station, NASA/JPL, Deep Space Instrumentation Facility, Earth's Link With Deep Space". The cover above was metered at Goldstone for the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) A (later designated LandSat 1) launch on July 23, 1972. I'm not sure why someone also applied the Goldstone cachet for Apollo support (in blue) to it as well.

What other metered space covers are out there? If you have some favorites, let's post them!

posted 05-19-2024 10:44 AM               

First is an Apollo 11 Dow-Unicover with a KSC Jul 20, 69 cancel. Next a MSCSC Houston Jul 24, 69 cancel and last an Apollo 12 Heritage/Craft KSC Nov 14,69 cancel

posted 05-19-2024 02:57 PM               

The Apollo 14 envelope is signed on the back by the station director, George Fariss.

posted 05-20-2024 08:57 AM            

As a result I have been quite reluctant in the past to include meter marked covers within my collection.

But for the ones I have included I am very glad I overcame my prejudices.

Starting way way back in 1934 here are a few metered covers for Zucker's rocket-post trial firings in England. The 'stamps' are merely exhibition labels overprinted for the occasion. Even the 'postmarks' apparently cancelling the 'stamps' are just cachet marks. The postal and philatelic value lies squarely with the meter marks...

Moving forward, here are a couple of meter postmarks for the British Interplanetary Society in the early 60s...

Unlike the 1930's meter marks, these both have a commercial box to the left of the franking which is used as an advertisement/logo.

But my absolute favourite is this metered airmail cover celebrating the Douglas Saturn S-ivB rocket stage...

posted 05-22-2024 12:34 PM               

Here are a few dozen more in which most all have some sort of aerospace product tie-in slogan along side the main meter impression. Many are on #10 envelopes that I have gotten through the mail when writing to NASA at various field centers, space age companies, contractors, foundations, and working as a space vendor for KSC, and much more, but just too many to show for now.

Of particular note at far top left is an Air Mail/Special Delivery letter container addressed to space author Lloyd Mallan of New York. Note the blue meter and slogan label at bottom left dated in June 1957 at Washington, D.C.. It was for the Golden Anniversary of the U.S. Air Force in 1907-57 that even depicts a rocket vehicle in flight from those early days. Are there any other rocket and/or space-themed meters before 1957?

posted 05-22-2024 07:36 PM               

And Ken, to answer your question about 3 cents postage vs. 4 cents on the Schirra flight McDonnell meter – My Mom taught me as a little kid (probably around 1962) that one could save a penny in postage on a letter by not sealing the flap (back then, no longer in effect). That may explain the 3 cents vs 4…

Ken, since you threw down the gauntlet of pre-1957 meters, this rocketplane geek will gladly pick that gauntlet up! See below:

Below is a meter from Bell Aircraft, makers of the X1 and the X2 rocketplanes. It was metered in Buffalo, NY (home of Bell) on July 13, 1954, just seven months after the X1A had set a speed record of Mach 2.44. The meter features an image of the X1A along with the words: “Bell X-1A, World’s Fastest Airplane”. Judging by the markings on the front, it must have been used to send a check to one of Bell’s suppliers for the (then) princely sum of $96.05 with a discount of $1.96. Seems a bit quaint today, eh? 😊

posted 05-23-2024 03:50 PM               

On top of that my friend, you showed another 1954 meter mail by Reaction Motors, Inc. Many years ago (can't even recall how many years it has been) that I acquired the personal collection of RMI founder, Lovell Lawrence, Jr., also known as "Mr. Redstone." As you know, he developed the first engine to break the sound barrier along with James Wyld.

posted 05-29-2024 07:34 AM               

1. PROJECT MERCURY MCDONNELL MANNED ORBITAL FLIGHT

2. FIRST FREE MAN IN SPACE

3. MCDONNELL 25TH ANNIVERSARY

posted 09-20-2024 11:07 AM            

I was intrigued by it immediately. Why the astronaut besides the flag? Did it have any space collectors' interest?

So I've done a little research...

One of the very last decisions surrounding the Apollo 11 moon landing was to erect a stars and stripes flag on the moon. It was so late in the planning that the mass needed to be at an absolute minimum as Eagle was already at its weight limit. One (anonymous) NASA employee was tasked with finding a suitable candidate, and after looking through numerous catalogues decided that Annin & Co.'s nylon USA flag was the way forward. Traditional cloth flags were just too heavy...

NASA bought the flag for $5.50 in 1969 from Dennis Lacarrubba's New Jersey-based company, Annin. The rest is history.

An interesting side topic to this is the fate of the flag.

posted 09-20-2024 11:29 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Axman:
One (anonymous) NASA employee was tasked with finding a suitable candidate, and after looking through numerous catalogues decided that Annin & Co.'s nylon USA flag was the way forward.

---

According to a NASA Press Release of 3 July 1969, "the Stars and Stripes to be deployed on the Moon was purchased along with several others made by different manufacturers at stores in the area around the Manned Spacecraft Center near Houston. In order to attach the flag properly to its aluminum staff it was necessary to remove the binding and labels. For this reason the name of the manufacturer cannot be determined." (NASA Press Release 69-83E, 3 July 1969, on file at the JSC History Office).

In his book, "All We Did Was Fly to the Moon," (Gainesville, FL: Whispering Eagle Press, 1988), p. 121, Dick Lattimer states that the flags that went to the moon were made by Annin & Co. Randy Beard, Sr., of Annin contacted the Public Affairs Office at NASA Headquarters regarding the flag shortly after the moon landing. His company had supplied many flags to NASA throughout the manned space flight program.

Beard was told that three secretaries had been sent out to buy 3x5-foot nylon flags during their lunch hours. After they had returned it was discovered that all of them had purchased their flags at Sears. Annin was the official flag supplier for Sears at the time so this story seemed to confirm that the flag had been made by Annin.

Beard was informed that NASA would not confirm the manufacturer of the flag because they didn't "want another Tang" -- in other words, the agency did not want another advertising campaign based upon the fact that a commercial product had been used by the astronauts. (Randy Beard, Sr., Annin & Co., personal communication, 24 August 1992 and 10 September 1992.)

Jack Kinzler was unable to verify that the flags were purchased at local stores or that the labels were removed. His notes indicate that the flags were purchased from the Government Stock Catalog for $5.50. (Kinzler, interview, 30 August 1992.)

posted 09-22-2024 06:43 AM            

I've just realised the (hidden?) significance of the text "...highest standards overall." Initially I took it to mean the company applied the highest quality to their work, but I've subsequently cottoned on to the minor definition of a standard:

STANDARD 4.a military or ceremonial flag carried on a pole or hoisted on a rope.