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Covers with
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| "Szostek" / "WSMR Cover" | Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp |
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Covers with
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| "Szostek" / "WSMR Cover" | Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp |
This page contains Covers with "Szostek" / "WSMR [White Sands Missile Range] Cover" (and Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp) cachets.
James Szostek of El Paso TX created WSMR Covers to mark scientific rocket launches and other events from or near WSMR, NM. Those covers often include this logo and/or this one on the front and this one on the back, and are often numbered either on the front or the back. The authors have never seen cover numbers 1 through 6, 18, and 37 or greater, for which we have no information whatsoever. They may not exist.
Blue highlighting is used to identify postal items only of interest for completing this collection of numbered covers, as they are not in the domains of primary interest for the authors.
Readers who know of additional information or images are invited to contact the authors using the e-mail addresses found at the link at the bottom of this page.
| Sections/divisions of the tables below |
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| "Szostek" / "WSMR Cover" cachets |
| Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp cachets |
Below is a list of "Szostek" / "WSMR Cover" cachets on launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers).
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Szostek" / "WSMR Cover" cachets | ||||
| WSMR Covers no.1 thru 6 have not been found and are an ongoing mystery | ||||
| United States | 1973-04-03 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek black printed/WSMR Cover no.7) cachet on cover, also back | Black-Brant-5C joint WSMR-Skylab solar observations intercomparison mission; WSMR launch; reached 245 km |
| United States | 1973-04-25 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.8) cachet on cover | Hound Dog missile B52 (airplane) launch |
| United States | 1973-05-14 1973_05-25 | WSMR, NM (machine cancel) WSMR, NM (hand cancel) | (Szostek purple printed/WSMR Cover no.9) cachet on cover | Two joint WSMR-Skylab missions, both launched from WSMR; the Black-Brant-5C extreme UV solar data calibration mission on 18 May (not 14 May as in the cancel) reached 267 km; the Aerobee-170 test and astronomical data intercomparison mission on 25 May reached 178 km |
| United States | 1973-05-18 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek yellow-gold printed/WSMR Cover no.10) cachet on cover, also back | Black-Brant-5C joint WSMR-Skylab extreme UV solar data calibration mission; WSMR launch; reached 267 km |
| United States | 1973-06-02 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek green printed/WSMR Cover no.11) cachet on cover, also back | Aerobee-170A joint WSMR-Skylab data intercomparison mission, to determine the "accuracy of Skylab's atmospheric physics and weather observation system"; WSMR launch; reached 175 km |
| United States | 1973-06-04 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek green printed/WSMR Cover no.12) cachet on cover, also back | Black-Brant-5C WSMR-Skylab solar extreme UV data calibration mission; WSMR launch; reached 132 km [but mission failed] |
| United States | 1973-06-11 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek red-brown printed/WSMR Cover no.13) cachet on cover, also back | Aerobee-200A joint WSMR-Skylab solar data calibration mission; WSMR launch; reached 221 km |
| United States | 1973-06-13 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek blue printed/WSMR Cover no.14) cachet on cover, also back | Black-Brant-5C solar UV/X-ray mission (observed the same region of the Sun as the Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), for data comparison and calibration); WSMR launch; reached 241 km |
| United States | 1973-06-14 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.15) cachet on cover | B1 (bomber) module escape system test |
| United States | 1973-06-19 | El Paso TX, Fort Bliss Branch | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.16) cachet on cover | Pershing missile first launches |
| United States | 1973-06-27 | El Paso TX, Fort Bliss Branch | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.17) cachet on cover | Pershing missile first launches |
| WSMR Cover no.18 has not been found and may not exist. (If it exists, it may be a Pershing missile launch cover like the two above and one below, but for a 1973-07-17 launch) |
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| United States | 1973-07-26 | El Paso TX, Fort Bliss Branch | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.19) cachet on cover | Pershing missile first launches |
| United States | 1973-08-03 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.20) cachet on cover | T38/F15 (jet) escape module dual-seat version test |
| United States | 1973-08-09 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.21) cachet on cover | Black-Brant-5C CALROC-2 (Calibration Rocket 2) extreme UV mission (to "properly calibrate the Apollo Telescope aboard Skylab"); WSMR launch; reached 269 km |
| United States | 1973-08-14 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.22) cachet on cover | B1 (bomber) module escape system test |
| United States | 1973-08-30 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.23) cachet on cover | Black-Brant-5C data intercomparison mission for Skylab's ATM (Apollo Telescope Mount) data (and also possibly for the EREP (Earth Resources Experiments Package)1 data); WSMR launch; reached 299 km |
| United States | 1973-11-07 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.24) cachet on cover | B1 (bomber) module escape system test |
| United States | 1973-12-10 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.25) cachet on cover | Black-Brant-5C CALROC-3 (Calibration Rocket 3) solar extreme UV mission; WSMR launch; reached 269 km; (cameras "photograph areas of solar activity while astronauts in Skylab use their telescope mount to photograph the same regions") |
| United States | 1973-12-19 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.26) cachet on cover | Aerobee-200A data intercomparison mission for Skylab's ATM (Apollo Telescope Mount) data; WSMR launch; reached 220 km |
| United States | 1974-01-04 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.27) cachet on cover | Aerobee-200A NASA/WSMR/NRL Kohoutek optical/UV astronomy mission; WSMR launch; reached 233 km |
| United States | 1974-01-07 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.28) cachet on cover | Aerobee-200A NASA/WSMR/NRL Kohoutek aeronomy/extreme UV astronomy mission; WSMR launch; reached 193 km |
| United States | 1974-01-12 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.29) cachet on cover | Aerobee-200A NASA/WSMR/NRL Kohoutek observation mission; WSMR launch; reached 82 km [but mission failed] |
| United States | 1974-01-15 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.30) cachet on cover | Black-Brant-5C intercomparison mission to measure contamination by particles around Skylab and estimate their effect on the ATM (Apollo Telescope Mount); WSMR launch; reached 234 km |
| United States | 1974-02-26 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.31) cachet on cover | Black-Brant-5C LPSP (Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planétaire) EUV (Extreme UltraViolet) solar mission; WSMR launch; [mission failed] at 98 km; (the cover text says that this was a Pioneer-10 Jupiter flyby data calibration mission, but that appears incorrect, since that flyby took place on 3 December 1973) |
| United States | 1974-05-26 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.32) cachet on cover | SMS-1 first ground pictures received |
| United States | 1974-06-18 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.33) cachet on cover | Aries-1 test/astronomy mission; WSMR launch; reached 300 km |
| United States | 1974-06-26 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.34) cachet on cover | B1 (bomber) module escape system test |
| United States | 1974-06-28 | Holloman AFB, NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.35) cachet on cover | B1 (bomber) module escape system test |
| United States | 1974-11-01 | Las Cruces NM | (Szostek/WSMR Cover no.36) cachet on cover | Da Vinci-1 balloon flight2 |
| WSMR Covers no.37 or greater have not been found and may not exist | ||||
1The Earth Resources Experiments Package (EREP) on Skylab took a comprehensive and systematic image survey of the Earth from space, taking some 36,000 photos from 1973 to 1974. Imaging was done by several cameras, the main one with six spectral bands.
2In the 1970s, four special balloon flights, Da Vinci-1 to -4, were organized by the aeronaut and artist Vera Simons. She designed them to combine science and art. Simons worked with Dr. Rudolf J. Englemann, a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) scientist and former Air Force meteorologist who was a specialist on the transport of low-level atmospheric pollutants. Simons planned to use the unique perspective from a balloon to gather landscape and cloud images that would be used in producing works of art. Englemann assembled a package of scientific experiments from 25 universities. Funding for the Da Vinci project came from the National Geographic Society, the Atomic Energy Commission, some private companies, and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The first flight took place in 1974 in New Mexico and collected data on atmospheric temperature and winds. In the summer of 1976 the second flight, from St. Louis, MO, to Griffin, IN, gathered data on the atmospheric mixing and diffusion and transport of urban air pollutants. The third flight, with similar goals, was also launched from St. Louis. The fourth flight, known as Da Vinci Transamerica, was launched from Oregon in 1979 and emphasized the artistic elements of the program along with the new goal of reaching Norfolk, VA in a trans-continental flight. It carried Simons, Engelmann, flight surgeon Fred Hyde and NBC cameraman Randy Birch (who did recordings for the Today Show) eastward. Though a storm forced it to land in northwestern Ohio, it nevertheless established a new ballooning overland distance record of 3223 km.
Below is a list of Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp cachets on launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers).
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szostek / Swanson rubber-stamp cachets | ||||
| United States | 1973-01-22 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/Swanson blue rubber-stamp) cachet (design based on Spacecraft Type-C general-purpose cachet) on cover | Aerobee-200 aeronomy/extreme solar UV mission to test instrumentation planned for Skylab; WSMR launch; reached 277 km |
| United States | 1973-01-22 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/Swanson cyan rubber-stamp) cachet (design based on Spacecraft Type-C general-purpose cachet) on cover | |
| United States | 1973-06-04 | WSMR, NM | (Szostek/Swanson red and blue rubber-stamp) cachet (the red part is based on Spacecraft Type-C general-purpose cachet) on cover, also insert | Aerobee-170A WSMR-Skylab atmospheric data intercomparison mission (2 June, reached 175 km) and Black Brant WSMR-Skylab solar extreme UV data calibration mission (4 June, reached 132 km [but mission failed]); both launches were from WSMR |
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