Echoes-From-Apollo

Apollo 15 Sieger/Crew Owned Mail Cover Flown to the Moon's Surface

 

Here is one of my most prized acquisitions, one of the 298 famous, or should I say infamous, Sieger/Apollo 15 crew owned mail covers that were flown to the moon's surface. This one is numbered '240' of '300'. And, no, that's not a typo! There were initially 300, but apparently, for whatever reason, only 298 actually ended up on the moon! Some folks make a big deal about the numbering, but, in my opinion, the numbering means nothing since all 298 covers were part of the same 'bundle' carried by Apollo 15 Astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin to the moon's surface in LM Falcon. Subsequently returned to earth. Where they were then confiscated by the U.S. Government, until eventually being  returned to the crew of Apollo 15.... ELEVEN YEARS LATER! And then, only after Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Al Worden sued the U.S. Government demanding they be returned to the crew! So, whether you have number 1, or number 298, they were all on the surface of the moon at the same time! The numbering has absolutely no real significance whatsoever. Neither do the differing stamp combinations found on some of these covers. 

 

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The number '158', as notated in the upper right corner, is the U.S. Government's seized document inventory identifier. Next to that are the initials 'SNH'. The number and the initials were both added after they were seized from the Apollo 15 crew by the U.S. Government. The following excerpt from 'Space Flown Artifacts: The Flown Apollo 15 Covers', authored by Howard C. Weinberger, provides some great information about the origin of the both the numbers and the initials seen on these covers:

'In the upper right corner of the reverse of the Sieger/Crew Owned [covers]... [are] the small handwritten initials of S. Neil Hosenball (SNH), NASA's General Counsel [at the time], and a serial number, which NASA assigned at the time of their confiscation. The Sieger/Crew Owned covers are numbered 1-298...'   

LOA

 

Below is a picture of Scott saluting the Flag on the surface of the moon. Scott admitted that the bundled covers were initially placed in the pocket of his spacesuit shortly before liftoff! Over the years, he has been somewhat evasive about what he did with them after that! So.... if the covers stayed in that pocket for the duration, then they were actually on the surface of the moon with Scott during his EVA's, as seen in this picture! However, if, as some have speculated,  Scott removed the covers from his spacesuit pocket prior to landing on the moon and simply stored them somewhere inside the LM, then that's where they remained during Scott's EVA'S!

 

LM OR POCKET? 
YOU DECIDE!

According to NASA release 72-189, issued Sept. 15, 1972: 'These 398 [covers] were properly packaged for flight and carried on board Apollo 15 by Scott in a pocket of his space suit'. Scott later reportedly said that he may have removed the bundled covers from his suit leg-pocket and placed them in another storage location aboard LM-10/Falcon once the crew left earth orbit. Scott also allegedly stated  that he seemed to recall the bundled covers not being inside his space suit pocket while he was on the moon. However with Scott, you never know whether you're getting the full story or, whether he's just clouding the issue because of his bitterness over the whole affair. Either way, in one form or another, this cover was 'on' the moon with Scott and his fellow moonwalker, Irwin. 

 

Two card inserts, hand notated '158A' and '158B', both initialed 'SNH' (S. Neil Hosenball), also came with this Sieger/Crew Owned cover. The following excerpt from Weinberger's 'Space Flown Artifacts: The Flown Apollo 15 Covers' provides some great information about these inserts: 

'Some of the Sieger/Crew Owned covers have a small (unflown) card inserted inside the cover, some signed by a crew member...' 

 

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  Photo showing comparison of notations placed on this Sieger/Crew Owned cover and both inserts after being turned over to the the U.S. Government by the Apollo 15 Astronauts.  

 

 Below is one of the best narratives I have found describing the history surrounding these Sieger/Crew Owned covers.

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Three Russian 'Cosmonautics Day' Mail Covers Signed By A Total Of 38 Cosmonauts

 

Here are my three Russian 'Cosmonautics Day' Mail Covers, two postmarked 1971 and one postmarked 1977, signed by a total of 38 Cosmonauts.
 

I obtained the first cover on March 11, 2017 in an online auction for a very reasonable price. 

 

As can be seen in the above photo, it is postmarked 1971 and signed by the following 9 Cosmonauts: 

Pavel Popovich

Vostok 4, Soyuz 14-part of original Cosmonaut group selected in 1960-Commander of Vostok 4 in 1962 which, along with Andriyan Nikolayev on Vostok 3, became the first time that multiple manned spacecraft were in earth orbit at the same time.

Andriyan Nikolayev

Vostok 3, Soyuz 9-married to Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, 1963-1982-Commander of Vostok 3 in 1962 which, along with Pavel Popovich on Vostok 4, became the first time that multiple manned spacecraft were in earth orbit at the same time.. 

Vladimir Shatalov

Soyuz 4, 8, and 10.

Nikolay Rukavishnikov

Soyuz 10, 16, and 23.

Georgy Beregovoy

Soyuz 3.

Viktor Gorbatko

Soyuz 7, 24, and 37.

Alexei Leonov

Voskhod 2, Soyuz 19, ASTP-became first human to 'walk' in space during Voskhod 2.

Vitaly Sevastyanov

Soyuz 9 and 18.

Valentin Lebedev

Soyuz T-5, T-7, and 13.

 

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On March 13, 2017, I received an email response from a Russian friend after a request for help identifying the signatures on this item. My friend provided me with the below photo of my item, on which he identified all 9 Cosmonaut signatures!  

 

 

I obtained the second cover on September 14, 2019 in an online auction for almost three times what I paid for the first one!

 

As can be seen in the above photo it is postmarked 1971 and is seen as I received it. You can plainly see that someone had used a pencil to print each Cosmonauts' name next to their corresponding signatures.

It is signed by the following 13 Cosmonauts: 

Anatoly Filipchenko

Soyuz 7 and 16.

Vasily Lazarev

Soyuz 12 and 18a (aborted launch).

Georgy Shonin

Souz 6-part of original Cosmonaut group selected in 1960.

Viktor Gorbatko

Soyuz 7, 24, and 37.

Vitaly Zholobov

Soyuz 21.

Gennady Sarafanov

Soyuz 15.

Vitaly Sevastyanov

Soyuz 9 and 18.

Georgy Grechko

Soyuz T-14, 17, and 26.

Yevgeny Khrunov

Soyuz 4 and 5.

Yuri Artyukhin

Soyuz 14.

Gherman Titov

Vostok 2-became second human to orbit the earth on August 6, 1961-first to orbit the earth multiple times (17).

Aleksei Gubarev

Soyuz 17 and 28.

Sergei Zhukov

No missions.

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Pencil notation lower right indicates this item was in a 1998 Superior auction with a price of '195'.

This item also came with the below Xeroxed insert in which someone used a red marker to identify each signature.

I obtained the third cover on January 18, 2020 in an online auction for a reasonable price, as with the first above described cover.

 

As can be seen in the above photo, it is postmarked 1977 and signed by the following 16 Cosmonauts: 

Georgy Beregovoy

Soyuz 3.

Viktor Gorbatko

Soyuz 7, 24, and 37.

Alexei Leonov

Voskhod 2, Soyuz 19, ASTP-became first human to 'walk' in space during Voskhod 2.

Vitaly Sevastyanov

Soyuz 9 and 18.

Anatoly Filipchenko

Soyuz 7 and 16.

Yuri Artyukhin

Soyuz 14.

Aleksei Gubarev

Soyuz 17 and 28.

Sergei Zhukov

No missions.

Pyotr Klimuk

Soyuz 13, Soyuz 18, Soyuz 30.

Vladimir Lyakhov

Salyut 6, Soyuz 32, Soyuz 34, Soyuz TM-5, Soyuz TM-6, Mir EP-3, Soyuz T-9.

Valery Rozhdestvensky

Soyuz 22, Soyuz 33.

Valery Bykovsky

Salyut 6, Vostok 5, Soyuz 22, Soyuz 29, Soyuz 31.

Lev Demin (AKA Dyomin)

Soyuz 15.

Vladimir Kovalyonok

Salyut 6, Soyuz 25, Soyuz 29, Soyuz 31, Soyuz T-4. 

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Pencil notation lower right shows what appears to be a price of '275' and a date of '93'.

 

On July 3, 2020, I received an unsolicited email from my Russian friend in which he provided me with the below photo of my item, on which he identified all 16 Cosmonaut signatures!  Being a Russian manned space program enthusiast, he knows his cosmonaut autographs. He did this on his own, which is greatly appreciated.

 

'Cosmonautics Day' was celebrated in the former USSR, and is still currently celebrated in Russia, to commemorate the first manned Earth orbit by Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.

R.I.P. Gene Cernan: 'The Last Man On The Moon'.

 

Cernan on the moon during Apollo 17!

Here are a couple of pictures which remind me of
two very nice interactions I had with Cernan. 

 

 

Cernan posing with my wifes' two grandchildren
at Spacefest IV in Tucson AZ June 2012.
Two 'Last Man On The Moon' books and a photo of
Page 1-9 from the Apollo 17 'Lunar Surface Checklist', 
all of which he signed/inscribed for me,
can be seen in the bottom left foreground.

 

 

For an amazing story on why I had him sign/inscribe the
photo of Page 1-9 from the Apollo 17 'Lunar Surface Checklist'
see my post titled: 

 'Apollo 17
'Lunar Surface Checklist' Page 1-9
Used On The Moons' Surface'

 

 

Cernan holding two Apollo 17 mail covers
he signed for me at Spacefest V
in Tucson AZ May 2013.

 Thanks for the memories Gene.

Commemorative Postal Cover Signed By 19 Early Russian Cosmonauts

 

I recently obtained this item primarily because I was excited about the number of Cosmonaut signatures on it! I know that three of the signatures belong to Cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (first woman in space), Alexey Leonov (first EVA), and Vladislav Volkov (perished on Soyuz 11). Just having these three signatures on an item would be awesome, but there are still 17 others which I have yet to fully identify. 

  

 

Looking at some exemplar signatures of some other Cosmonauts, I believe that Alexei Eliseev, Vladimir Shatalov, and Georgi Shonin may be three other Cosmonauts whose signatures appear on this item.

As for the other 14, I have no idea.

I would really appreciate any help that can be provided in identifying these other 14 signatures.

UPDATE

On November 12, 2016, I received an email from a new Russian friend in response to my above request for assistance in identifying the signatures on this item. My friend provided me with the below photo of my item, on which he identified all 19 Cosmonaut signatures!  

 

Thank you Sergey!!!

Vintage Apollo11 Anniversary Cover Signed By USS Hornet Captain Carl J. Seiberlich And Artist Detlev Van Ravenswaay

 

Here is a neat little piece I obtained from a well known space artifact dealer. This item was signed by Carl J. Seiberlich, then Captain of the USS Hornet, which was the recovery ship for both the Apollo 11 and 12 astronauts and capsules, AND it also has an original hand drawn cachet by artist Detlev van Ravenswaay! The cachet is signed in pencil as 'van waay'. I subsequently contacted Ravenswaay and inquired about the cachet. He sent me a reply as follows: 'It is long ago I painted the cover. I am sure it is signed "van waay".' Seiberlich was a Rear Admiral when he signed the cover which is postmarked July 24, 1973. Very cool! I now use this cachet as the logo for my profile on this site! 

 

 

Vintage Mail Cover NASA's First Female Astronauts Signed By All Six!

 

About two years ago I obtained this 'NASA names 35 New Space Shuttle Astronauts' mail cover postmarked January 16, 1978 Houston TX. This group of 35 included America's first six female astronauts! When I obtained this cover it had already been signed by five of the six. The only signature it did not have was Rhea Seddons'. As you can see, it now has the signatures of all six of NASA's first female astronauts: Kathryn D. Sullivan, Sally Ride,  Anna Lee Fisher, Judith A. Resnik, Shannon Lucid, and last, but not least, Rhea Seddon!

 

 

  Thanks to the efforts of a fellow collector, Seddon signed the item at the Astronaut Scholarship Foundations' 'Astronaut Autograph and Memorabilia Show' November 2014. The below picture shows her holding the item after signing!

 

 

 According to the collector who obtained Seddons' signature for me, she was excited to see this item and immediately recognized the significance of the postmark date on the cover!

Apollo 17 Signed Mail Covers

 

I love both of these covers. As can be seen below, both are
vibrantly illustrated and in great condition.

While recently waiting in line to have these signed by Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan, he was telling stories to people ahead of me. One of the stories he told involved him recently buying some type of large statues in Scottsdale Arizona and when he called his wife to tell her about the purchase, she basically told him he better not come home if he had purchased any more of those types of statues for their house! I guess even astronaut heroes have to answer to that higher power back at home!

After he signed my covers, I asked him if would hold them so I could take his picture with them and he said he would but he felt like he had to sneeze. I kidded with him and told him to please turn his head to the side so he wouldn't sneeze on my covers! I then told him that if he did sneeze on my covers I would have his DNA [to do with as I wished]!

Overall a very pleasant wait and subsequent signing.

 

 

Apollo 17 Launch Day Cover Postmarked
on December 7, 1972 at Kennedy Space Center.
Signed by Apollo 17 Astronauts Ron Evans,
Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt.

 

 

   Cernan Signing the Launch Day Cover.

 

 

Apollo 17 Moon Liftoff Cover
Postmarked December 14, 1972
at Kennedy Space Center. 
Signed by Schmitt and Cernan.

 

Cernan Signing the Moon Liftoff Cover.

 

 

Cernan Holding Both Signed Covers.

Cernan, the 'Last Man On The Moon',
has since passed away.