Please note that email addresses are current at the time of posting of a note. However, they change over time. Older items may contain incorrect addresses.
2011 Space Unit Meeting to be held at NAPEX 2011 (June 3-5)
The 2011 Space Unit Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 4 in the afternoon. The room location will be published
in the NAPEX show guide. There will be a BBQ, June 4, 2011, at Woody Witt's house in Northern Virginia (a short
drive from the show) in the evening where you can share some camaraderie with fellow space cover enthusiasts.
We expect to have a critical mass of Space Unit members in attendance at the show with great trading material to
toss around in the
evenings, and four authors in attendance of recent space cover related books.
At press time there are 32 Frames of Astrophilatelic Exhibits scheduled to be featured at the show:
David Ball: “Americans in Space: Project Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo” - 8 frames
Ray Cartier: “Believe That This Nation... the story of how we reached the moon six times” - 8 frames
Dennis Dillman: “Onboard American Rocketplanes” - 1 frame
Dennis Dillman: “Project Mercury - To Put a Man in Space” - 2 frames
Steve Durst: “The Wernher von Braun Rocket Team in War and Peace” - 7 frames
Steve Durst: “General Barry's Rocket Battalion, 1861-1863” - 1 frame
John Macco: “Apollo-Soyuz Test Project” - 5 frames
Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
7920 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
703-761-5111
http://www.napex.org/venue.htm
NAPEX show rate (available for June 1-5) $135/night + taxes
NAPEX Show information can be found at http://www.napex.org
North Texas Space Unit Meeting
Five members of the SU will drive down to Houston for a scheduled meeting on Saturday, September 19th at 3:00
PM in conjunction with the Greater Houston Stamp Show. The location of the show is the Humble Civic Center - 8233
Will Clayton Pkwy. - Humble, Texas. Postcards have been sent so that all 22 Texas SU members are aware of the show
and have the opportunity to meet with several long time Space Cover enthusiasts. A first showing of a 6-frame exhibit
on Apollo 11, starting with a signed Explorer 1 cover by James vanAllen and going through an Apollo
11 Captain's cover for splashdown will be on the show floor. All attendees are encouraged to bring space collectibles
to show, trade, sell or have identified.
Following the close of the show, attendees are invited to join up for dinner at a local restaurant and then gather
at a hotel room at the official show hotel, the Hampton Inn at 20515 Hwy. 59 Norht at Will Clayton Pkwy. in Humble.
They have a special show rate of $85 per night including a hot continental breakfast, and they offer free shuttle
service between the airport and the show site. Reservations at (281) 446-4800 must be made by September 4th and
callers must mention the Houston Stamp Show Rate. More information about the show is at www.houstonstampclub.org.
The North Texas Study Unit is known for its fun gatherings over the last 35 years or so. Attendees can learn how
to participate in a three-way, four-way or greater trade to get items you want from others who don't want what
you have.
Ray Cartier
Space Unit Meeting for Balpex 2009 - Updated
There will be a Space Unit meeting at the Baltimore Philatelic Society's Balpex on Saturday September 5,
2009 at the Marriott Hotel, Hunt Valley near Baltimore. Meeting will be in Salon "C" from 4:00
- 5:00 pm.The guest speaker will be Captain Joseph Guion, the
Commanding Officer of the USS Kiowa for the ship's successful recovery of space monkey's Able and Baker
on May 28, 1959. Space Unit attendees will also receive a free hard copy Apollo 11-17 space book at the meeting.
And of course bring those covers for Captain Guion to autograph as well as any you wish to trade. It looks like
Balpex will be a super get together.
See also article by By Dennis Dillman, SU #3324
Space Unit's National Meeting for 2008
The Space Unit's National Meeting for 2008 will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 on Saturday August 23 in conjunction
with the AmeriCover show at the Fairview Park Marriott, 3111 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, Va. 22042 (a suburb
of Washington, DC).
Our guest speaker will be one of the pioneers of early missile development for the US Navy, Capt. Grayson Merrill
(USN, retired). Capt. Merrill, also known as the "Father of Point Mugu", has had a long and influential
Navy career. The Class Deck Officer in the Bureau of Aeronautics during WWII, Merrill helped oversee the creation
of assault drones for use against Japan. In the post-war era he helped prepare specifications for 18 guided missiles,
including the Regulus, Lark, Gorgon and Gargoyle. He played a key role in the creation of the Naval Air Missile
Test Center at Pt. Mugu, and was the director of testing there for four years (1946-49). Prior to retirement from
the Navy in 1957, Captain Merrill was the first technical director for the Polaris ballistic missile program. A
true renaissance man, Captain Merrill co-authored a ground -breaking series of guided missile design textbooks,
and also wrote the gripping Cold War novel "Conger Eel."
The meeting will also include a short report from the senior Space Unit officer at the meeting and (but of course)
trading!! Bring trade stuff!!!
The evening of August 23, Steve Durst has graciously volunteered to have a cookout at his home in nearby Millersville,
Md. Steve is also working up a tour of Ft. McHenry, home of "…the rockets' red glare…" for Sunday morning
August 24 for all who are interested.
More details will come in future editions of the Astrophile and on the SU Web site.
So don't miss this celebration of "The Early Days" of missile development. And bring trade stuff…
There isn't an astro class at Americover - we fit into their "Illustrated Mail" category. Steve Durst,
Eugene Mszar, and Denniss Dillman have all entered exhibits but the deadline is June 22,
so we do not know if we've been accepted or not. Dennis fills 4 frames, Steve fills at least 7, and Eugene 2.
Former astronaut Hank Hartsfield to speak at ATA awards banquet in Texas 2007
Hank Hartsfield, a former astronaut and a stamp collector, will speak at the American Topical Association Banquet
during its National Topical Stamp Show 2007 in Irving, Texas on Saturday, June 16th.
The show will be at the Sheraton Grand in Irving, TX, June 15-17, 2007. Some of the info should be posted to our
website, www.americantopicalassn.org The show entrance and parking are free. There will be several NASA artifacts
on display at the Space Unit society table, along with a Korean War howitzer shell used for dropping propaganda
leaflets. There will be a display of space covers with the signatures of every individual who went into space during
the first 25 years of Manned Space Flight.
This will be primarily a stamp show, but with extras. The theme will be Western. We will have a saddled Texas Longhorn
Steer in the parking lot for photos (fee required). There will be several youth related activities, including Youth
Stamp Camp and Champion of Champion Youth Stamp Exhibit competition. Live Country entertainment with the Furlong
Sisters at the President's Reception on Friday night, June 15, and live mariachi's performing at the Awards Banquet
on Saturday night, June 16.
There will be a First Day of Issue ceremony on Friday morning at 9:00 AM for a new stamp honoring both the Texas
Rangers and the Winchester Rifle, with a Texas Ranger from Company B unveiling the stamp and telling listeners
a little about this famous group of lawmen. Texas authors from the National Outlaw and Lawment Association will
be selling books about real western heroes and villains all day Saturday.
Check the web site at www.americantopicalassn.org for details
including preregistration forms and tour reservations or contact the ATA at Box 57, Arlington, TX 76004-0057, USA
or email to americantopical@msn.com.
UPDATED INFORMATION ON BALPEX 2005
Our guest speaker will be Jim Munroe. Mr. Munroe was aboard the USS Fletcher on May 16, 1963 during the MA-9
recovery of Mercury Astronaut, Gordon Cooper.
EXHIBITING AT BALPEX 2005
There will be a Space Unit Meeting at Balpex on Saturday September 3, 2005. It is is scheduled for 11am - 1
pm in Salon E.
LATEST ON SPACE UNIT MEETING AT NAPEX 2005 - Updated
We are pleased to announce that the guest speaker for the Space Unit meeting June 4 at NAPEX will be Rear Admiral
Carl J. Seiberlich, former Commanding Officer of the USS Hornet (CVS-12) for the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 mission
recoveries.
Admiral Seiberlich will give a short presentation concerning his role in the recovery of the Apollo 11 crew and
will offer some additional comments about the present conservatory work for USS Hornet, moored in Alameda, CA;
and the Apollo 11 crew quarantine quarters presently located at the new Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum Annex near
DullesInternational Airport.
He will also autograph photos, covers, and memorabilia of folks attending his presentation. As a footnote, I would
ask you to limit this to two items as we anticipate this meeting will be heavily attended.
The meeting will be held in the Mount Vernon Room of the McLean Hilton, 7920 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, Va (near
Tysons Corner). The meeting will begin at 4:00 pm and go until the show closes at 6:00.
Details of the Space Unit Napex Meeting at Napex: Time is 4-6 PM Saturday June 4, 2005 in the Mount Vernon Room
in the McLean Hilton
EXHIBITING
AT NAPEX 2005
Any Space unit member who wants to exhibit at Napex to submit applications NOW as April 15th is closing
date. For more information and prospectus and applications are available on the web (www.napex.org)
SPACE
UNIT MEETING AT NAPEX 2005
This meeting will be held on Saturday June 4, 2005. Time and room to be finalized.
SPACE
UNIT MEETINGS IN 2005
1) John Macco, Vice Presidentof the Space Unit is planning to hold Space Unit meetings at the NAPEX and BALPEX
philatelic exhibitions in 2005. Each meeting is tentatively booked for 2 hours.
Contact John Macco - johnmacco007@comcast.net
2) On April 9 2005 The Space Unit will sponsor it's 11th Stamp & Postcard at the First German Sports Club,
60-60 Metropolitian Ave, Ridgewood Queens, NY. Any detail or question contact Carmine Torrisi at Tel # 718-386-7882
( After 7:30) or email ctorrisi@nyc.rr.com .
SPACE
UNIT 4th Overseas' Member's Meeting Report
Space Unit Overseas Members learn:
More than one Cosmic Mail cancel for Soyuz 28
By Jürgen Peter Esders, International Director, Europe
Collectors from four European nations gathered at the 4th Space Unit Overseas Members Meeting last 9 October in
the Czech Republic. SU members Bart Beimers from the Netherlands, and Erhard Mutz and Hans-Ferdinand Virnich together
with Austria's FIP Astrophilately Commission member Miri Matejka from Austria joined Space Unit's International
Director Jürgen P. Esders at the Northern Bohemian city of Vysoké Mýto to share talks, listen
to a lecture and trade space covers. The Space Unit members were joined by a dozen unaffiliated space collectors
from the Czech Republic in an effort to meet each other and explore subjects of mutual interest.
Julius Cacka, head of the space section of the Czech Philatelic Federation, introduced the participants to the
findings of his study on the use of the Soviet bord cancel during the first international visit to space station
Salyut 6 back in 1978. On this flight, Czech cosmonaut Vladimir Remek became the first non-American/non-Russian
spacefarer. Not only one stamping device had been used, as the official Soviet position says, but at least five
different devices were employed before and after the flight in places like Cosmodrome Baikonur, Moscow and Prague,
Cacka found out after carefully comparing minor graphical differences on the imprints. Also, there were forgeries
of both the Soviet and the Czech cancel, likely to originate in what was formerly the German Democratic Republic.
At the time of the meeting, a regional astrophilatelic exhibition of collections specialising on aerophilately
and astrophilately took place in a local museum. 26 collections competed for medals on "Aerospace 04",
and Space Unit members Beimers, Mutz and Matejka won Gold medals for all of them (see overview). Beimers and Virnich
were also showing their previously decorated collections on Chinese spaceflights in the Court of Honor.
On Saturday, a special postmarker showing Sputnik and a jet air craft was used. Two stationery postcards commemorated
the 40th Anniversary of the first three-man spaceflight Voskhod 1 and the local airport, the Voskhod card being
sold out on the first day of the exhibition already. The city administration employed two slogan cancels in their
stamping machine, honouring Soyuz 28 backup cosmonaut Oldrich Pelcak and a Czech aviation pioneer.
It was the same Pelcak who was also the guest of honour to the meeting following the Space Unit gathering. Well
weathered and with a Schwejk like sense of humour, Pelcak thoroughly enjoyed sharing anecdotes of his time as a
cosmonaut candidate, and demonstrated docking techniques using a soda and a beer glass getting together in the
airspace between the emptied bottles of Czech beer standing in front of him. After the talk, Pelcak granted countless
autographs on the books, photos and covers laid in front of him.
SU member |
Subject of the exhibit |
Medal won |
Erhard Mutz | Space Flight | Gold |
Miri Matejka | The spaceflight of Vladimir Remek | Gold |
Miri Matejka | Interesting items from early spaceflight | Gold |
Miri Matejka | The spaceflight of Austronaut Viehböck | Gold |
Bart A. Beimers | The triumph of a dream | Gold |
Hans-Ferdinand Virnich | China's Divine vessels - Shenzhou | Court of Honor |
Bart A. Beimers | Dragon in Space | Court of Honor |