|
A-train
|
|
|
A-train
|
This page contains philatelic information on the A-train constellation satellites. Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the satellites featured are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.
There are 5 satellites in the A-train constellation: EOS-Aqua, EOS-Aura, CloudSat, CALIPSO, and PARASOL. A 6th satellite, OCO, failed upon launch in 2009. Another satellite, Glory, is expected to join the A-train in 2010.
| Launch information (found in the environmental-observing satellites page) |
Launch covers, anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers (farther below) |
Postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.) (immediately below) |
|---|---|---|
| EOS-series | EOS-series | EOS-series |
| CloudSat | CloudSat | CloudSat |
| CALIPSO | CALIPSO | CALIPSO |
| PARASOL | PARASOL | PARASOL |
| OCO | OCO | OCO |
| Glory | Glory | Glory |
Below is a list of A-train constellation postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.).
| Country | Catalog Number* | Type of Item** | Year of Issue | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua and Aura1 | ||||
| Guinea Republic | BL900 | In (upper-left) margin of MS2 | 2005 | EOS-Terra2 |
| Iceland | 1152 (BL?) | In (upper-right) margin of SS1 | 2008 | EOS-Terra2 |
| Iceland | 1152 fdc | SS1 and cachet on FDC | ||
| Maldive Islands | 2895c (Mi?) | From MS4 (2895 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2895) | 2006 | EOS-Aqua |
| Maldive Islands | 2895d (Mi?) | |||
| Sierra Leone | 2871d (Mi?) | One of MS4 (2871 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2871) | 2006 | EOS-Aqua, EOS-Aura |
| Tanzania | 2444 (BL?) | SS1 | 2007 | EOS-Aqua, EOS-Aura (implied) |
| United States | None | Cancel on cover | 2008 | EOS-Aura (in text) |
| CLOUD SATellite (CloudSat) | ||||
| Antigua and Barbuda | 2926 (BL?) | In (upper-left) margin of SS1 | 2006 | CloudSat |
| Guyana | 3931 (BL?) i3931 | In (upper-right) margin of SS1, also imperforate SS1 | 2006 | CloudSat |
| Maldive Islands | 2895b (Mi?) | One of MS4 (2895 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2895) | 2006 | CloudSat |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown d (new issue) | One of MS4, also imperforate MS4 | 2005 | CloudSat |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown fdc (new issue) Unknown fdc (imperf.) | On MS4 and cachet on FDC | ||
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown (new issue) Unknown (imperf.) | In (upper-left) margin of MS9 | 2006 | CloudSat |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown fdc (new issue) Unknown fdc (imperf.) | On MS9 on FDC | ||
| Sierra Leone | 2871a (Mi?) | On two stamps and in (upper-left) margin of MS4 (2871 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2871) | 2006 | CloudSat launch and satellite |
| Sierra Leone | 2871c (Mi?) | |||
| Tanzania | 2444 (BL?) | SS1 | 2007 | CloudSat |
| Tuvalu | 1013 (BL?) | In (upper-left) margin of SS1 | 2006 | CloudSat (in text and partial image) |
| Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) | ||||
| Antigua and Barbuda | 2926 (BL?) | SS1 | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| Guyana | 3931 (BL?) i3931 | SS1, also imperforate SS1 | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| Maldive Islands | 2895a (Mi?) | One of MS4 (2895 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2895) | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown c (new issue) | One of MS4, also imperforate MS4 | 2005 | CALIPSO |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown fdc (new issue) Unknown fdc (imperf.) | On MS4 and cachet on FDC | ||
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown fdc (new issue) Unknown fdc (imperf.) | Cachet on FDC | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| Sierra Leone | 2871a (Mi?) | On two stamps and in (upper-right) margin of MS4 (2871 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2871) | 2006 | CALIPSO launch and satellite |
| Sierra Leone | 2871b (Mi?) | |||
| Tanzania | 2444 (BL?) | SS1 | 2007 | CALIPSO |
| Togo | 2035f (Mi?) | One of MS6 (2035 (a-f)) | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| Tuvalu | 1013 (BL?) | On stamp and in (right) margin of SS1 | 2006 | CALIPSO |
| Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Science coupled with Observations from a LIDAR (PARASOL) | ||||
| Sierra Leone | 2871d (Mi?) | One of MS4 (2871 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2871) | 2006 | PARASOL |
| Tanzania | 2444 (BL?) | SS1 | 2007 | PARASOL |
| Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) | ||||
| Sierra Leone | 2871d (Mi?) | One of MS4 (2871 (a-d)), also imperforate MS4 (i2871) | 2006 | OCO |
| Glory | ||||
| No (non-launch cover) postal items found | ||||
*Scott catalog number, unless prefixed with Mi or BL for Michel; "i" prefix denotes imperforate version.
**FDC = first day cover; SS# = souvenir sheet, MS# = miniature sheet, where # = number of stamps in sheet, and the numbers in parentheses are the catalog numbers of the stamps in the sheet.
1The U.S. EOS-Aura from 2004 should not be confused with the French D-series satellite (D-2B / Aura) from 1975, which goes by the same name.
2EOS-Terra is the "morning" compliment to the "afternoon" EOS-Aqua, but it is not part of the A-train satellite constellation.
Below is a list of A-train constellation launch covers, anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers.
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua and Aura1 | ||||
| United States | 1999-12-18 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (Printed) cachet on cover | EOS-Terra launch2 |
| United States | 1999-12-18 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (Printed) cachet (different) on cover | EOS-Terra launch2 |
| United States | 1999-12-18 | Lompoc CA, Vandenberg AFB | (JPL) cachet on cover | EOS-Terra launch2 |
| United States | 1999-12-18 | Pasadena CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | EOS-Terra launch2 |
| United States | 2002-05-04 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | EOS-Aqua launch |
| United States | 2002-05-04 | Pasadena CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | EOS-Aqua launch |
| United States | 2004-07-15 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (Printed) cachet on cover | EOS-Aura launch |
| United States | 2004-07-15 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (Printed) cachet (different) on cover | EOS-Aura launch |
| United States | 2004-07-15 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (SCP sticker)3 cachet on cover | EOS-Aura launch |
| United States | 2004-07-15 | Pasadena CA | (JPL rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | EOS-Aura launch |
| United States | 2004-07-15 | Pasadena CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | EOS-Aura launch |
| CLOUD SATellite (CloudSat) | ||||
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Printed) cachet on cover | CloudSat/CALIPSO launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Pasadena CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | CloudSat/CALIPSO launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | CloudSat/CALIPSO launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Padadena CA | (JPL rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | CloudSat/CALIPSO launch |
| Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) | ||||
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Printed) cachet on cover | CALIPSO/CloudSat launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Pasadena CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | CALIPSO/CloudSat launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (JPL) cachet on cover | CALIPSO/CloudSat launch |
| United States | 2006-04-28 | Padadena CA | (JPL rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | CALIPSO/CloudSat launch |
| Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Science coupled with Observations from a LIDAR (PARASOL) | ||||
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | 2004-12-18 | Port aux Français, Îles Kerguelen | (Printed) cachet on cover | PARASOL launch |
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | 2004-12-18 | Port aux Français, Îles Kerguelen | (Printed) cachet (different) on cover | PARASOL launch |
| Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) | ||||
| United States | 2009-02-24 | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc CA | (Mission 57) cachet on cover, also back | OCO [failed] launch |
| Glory | ||||
| No launch cover images available yet | ||||
Back to Environmental-observing satellites.
Back to Un-Manned Satellite Philately.
