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Saturn-Apollo and
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Saturn-Apollo and
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This page contains philatelic information on the Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] program spacecraft. Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the spacecraft 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.
This page includes only those Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn missions which resulted in an orbited payload AND which were un-manned missions. Sub-orbital Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] launches are included in the research rockets page.
| Launch information (found elsewhere) |
Launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers) (farther below) |
Other postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.) (immediately below) |
|---|---|---|
| Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] | Saturn-Apollo [un-manned only] | Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] |
| Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] | ||
| Apollo-Saturn (on other than Apollo-Saturn launch covers) |
Below is a list of Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] program spacecraft postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.).
| Country | Catalog Number | Type of Item | Year of Issue | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] | ||||
| Comoro Islands | C158 (Mi772) iC158 | Imperforate | 1986 | (possible) Apollo-Saturn AS-203 |
| Comoro Islands | C158a (BL none) | On stamp of imperforate SS1 (iC158) | ||
| Cuba | 860 (Mi919) | From block of 5 (862a (858-862 + label)) (Mi918-922), or from MS20 (862b (4x (858-862))) (Mi918-922) | 1964 | (possible) Saturn-SA-6 |
| Cuba | 861 (Mi921) | (possible) Saturn-SA-5 | ||
| Germany (West) | None | (Blue printed) cachet on cover, also back | 1963 | Saturn SA-5 (also known as the S-4 satellite) |
| Satellite Beach FL (USA) | Local | set-D-3 (green) | 1965 | "S-4 satellite" (Saturn-SA-5) |
| Satellite Beach FL (USA) | Local o/p | set-D-3 (green) overprinted in gold | 1965 | "S-4 satellite" (Saturn-SA-5) |
| Sri Lanka | 1250b (Mi1203) | One of pair (1250 (a-b)) (Mi1202-1203) | 1999 | (possible) Apollo-Saturn AS-203 |
| United States | None | (Pictorial) meter on cover | 1966 | The "Saturn S-IVB" was the second stage of the launch rocket in orbital mission AS-203 (5 July 1966) and in sub-orbital missions AS-201 (26 Feb 1966) and AS-202 (25 Aug 1966) |
| United States | 1529 cover (Mi1136 cover) | (Motor City Stamp and Cover Club Station) cancel on cover | 1975 | Saturn-SA-6 |
| United States | 1556 cover (Mi1164 cover) | (Motor City Stamp and Cover Club Station) cancel on cover | 1975 | Saturn-SA-6 |
| United States | 1557 cover (Mi1170 cover) | (Motor City Stamp and Cover Club Station) cancel on cover | 1975 | Saturn-SA-6 |
| Yemen Arab Republic | 263B (Mi947) i263B (Mi954) | Also detail; also imperforate MS12 (12x i263B), (half of MS12 (6x i236B)) | 1969 | (possible) Apollo-Saturn AS-203 (with the aft interstage ring still attached and covering the J-2 motor nozzle); (not "Gemini-3" as in the text) |
| Yemen Arab Republic | C90ab (Mi1703) | One of MS4 (C90a (b-e)) (BL218) | 1982 | (possible) Apollo-Saturn AS-203 |
| Yemen Arab Republic | C90ab proof | Chromalin proof | ||
| Yemen Arab Republic | C103 (Mi1726) | 1982 | (possible) Apollo-Saturn AS-203 | |
| Yemen Arab Republic | C103 ds | Deluxe sheet (C103) | ||
Below is a list of Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] program spacecraft launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers).
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn-Apollo [un-manned only] | ||||
| 1964-01-29: Saturn-SA-5 | ||||
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Satellite Beach FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Sokalsky dark blue, and red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Sokalsky dark purple) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Sokalsky black) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 1963-05-09 | Cape Canaveral FL Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Rank velvet) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch MIDAS-7 and ERS-5/6 and DASH-1 and WestFord-2 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 1963-10-17 | Cape Canaveral FL Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank velvet) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch US-ERS-12 and Vela-1/2 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL Satellite Beach FL | (Rank, based on a Boudwin rubber-stamp design) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL Satellite Beach FL | (Rank) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-01-29 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL Satellite Beach FL | (Rank) cachet (different, and signature) on cover | Saturn-SA-5 launch Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| 1964-05-28: Saturn-SA-6 | ||||
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (C. Swanson purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft) cachet (and signature) on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Sokalsky purple) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Sarzin) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch |
| United States | 1964-05-28 1964-01-29 | Satellite Beach FL Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank, based on a Boudwin rubber-stamp design) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-6 launch Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| 1964-09-18: Saturn-SA-7 | ||||
| United States | 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (C. Swanson purple rubber-stamp and black typed) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft) cachet on cover, also insert | Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Sarzin) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Vandy? black and purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 1964-01-29 | Satellite Beach FL Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank) cachet on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| United States | 1964-09-18 1964-01-29 | Satellite Beach FL Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank) cachet (different, and signature) on cover | Saturn-SA-7 launch Saturn-SA-5 launch |
| Apollo-Saturn [un-manned only] | ||||
| 1966-02-26: Apollo-Saturn AS-201 [sub-orbital] | ||||
| See the research rockets page for postal items related to this sub-orbital mission | ||||
| 1966-07-05: Apollo-Saturn AS-203 | ||||
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Centennial) cachet on cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-203 launch; a Saturn-1B first stage boosted a Saturn-IVB upper stage into orbit to verify its liquid hydrogen fuel management and engine restart capability in weightlessness; no Apollo spacecraft was carried |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Centennial) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers, no logo) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL (machine cancel) | (Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL (hand cancel) | (Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Artopages) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Unknown) cachet on cover (probable fake, based on differences between its cancel and known real cancels) | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (HJM black) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1966-07-05 1966-08-25 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Rank velvet) cachet on cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-203 launch; a Saturn-1B first stage boosted a Saturn-IVB upper stage into orbit to verify its liquid hydrogen fuel management and engine restart capability in weightlessness; no Apollo spacecraft was carried Apollo-Saturn AS-202 launch |
| Apollo-Saturn AS-203 (anniversaries) | ||||
| United States | 2021-07-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Ranski) cachet on cover, also back | 55th anniv. Apollo-Saturn AS-203 launch |
| 1966-08-25: Apollo-Saturn AS-202 [sub-orbital] | ||||
| See the research rockets page for postal items related to this sub-orbital mission | ||||
| 1967-11-09: Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (Apollo-4) | ||||
| Malagasy Republic (Madagascar) | 1967-11-09 | Tananarive | (Black rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (Apollo-4) Command and Service Module (CSM) test and photographic mission1; the CSM was boosted to 18,256 km and then descended back to Earth in a realistic simulation of re-entry from a translunar orbit; (in the two covers with the "Kennedy Space Center FL" cancel location highlighted in blue, the text "Apollo manned flight" and "AS 204" is incorrect) |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank velvet) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank velvet) cachet (slightly different) on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Harry Gordon magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Harry Gordon magenta and purple rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet on (airmail) cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Colorado Springs CO | (Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Jupiter FL | (Magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet (and signature) on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Green and black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Astro Covers, no logo) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (KSC NASA? red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | USS Bennington | (US Navy magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Whitney blue and magenta) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Whitney blue and black and magenta) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Whitney blue and magenta) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Unknown) cachet on cover (probable fake, based on differences between its cancel and known real cancels) | |
| United States | 1967-11-09 | Waimea HI | (Black and green and magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (events) | ||||
| United States | 1967-11-27 (delayed at port?) | Patrick AFB, FL | (Red printed and black typed) cachet on cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (Apollo-4) event? |
| Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (anniversaries) | ||||
| United States | 2017-11-09 | Sagamore Beach MA | (Coverscape) cachet on cover | 50th anniv. Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (Apollo-4) Command and Service Module (CSM) test and photographic mission1; the CSM was boosted to 18,256 km and then descended back to Earth in a realistic simulation of re-entry from a translunar orbit |
| 1968-01-22: Apollo-Saturn AS-204 (Apollo-5) | ||||
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Whitney black and red) cachet on (airmail) cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-204 launch; a Saturn-1B rocket lifted the Apollo LM (lunar module) into orbit in its first un-manned test flight; the LM's ascent and descent engine systems, and its ability to separate the ascent and descent stages, were tested in the space environment |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Astro Covers) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Astro Covers) cachet (different) on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Harry Gordon) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson and extra blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | WSMR, NM | (Harry Gordon? magenta and purple rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on (airmail) cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Purple rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Boudwin?/Vandy? blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (KSC NASA? blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-01-22 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Rank velvet) cachet on cover | |
| 1968-04-04: Apollo-Saturn AS-502 (Apollo-6) | ||||
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-502 (Apollo-6) mission to test various rocket and spacecraft systems. While the rocket was orbiting Earth, its special 70-millimeter camera obtained some spectacular color stereo photographs which were later found to be excellent for cartographic, topographic and geographic studies of continental areas, coastal regions, and shallow waters. The camera photographed sections of the United States, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the western Pacific, and had a haze-penetrating film and filter combination that provided better color balance and higher resolution than any photographs obtained during the Mercury and Gemini flights. |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Whitney green and black) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Whitney green and black) cachet on (airmail) cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Harry Gordon magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Patrick AFB, FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on cover, and insert | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Patrick AFB, FL (hand cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on cover, and insert | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on cover, and insert | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature, different) on cover, and insert | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Grand Forks ND | (Magenta and black rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Wallops Island VA | (Magenta rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Barstow CA | (Magenta and black rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet (and signature) on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | WSMR, NM | (Magenta rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Du Pont | (US Navy black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (KSC NASA? blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Okinawa | (B748: US Navy green and silver and black printed) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Okinawa | (B747: US Navy green and silver and black printed) cachet (slightly different) on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Okinawa | (US Navy magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Okinawa | (US Navy magenta rubber-stamp and black typed) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Swanson/DuBeau? cyan rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Chikaskia | (US Navy black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Chikaskia | (US Navy black and red rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS York County | (US Navy brown and blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS York County | (US Navy black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS York County | (US Navy black rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Black printed) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Black printed) cachet (different) on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Vandenberg AFB, CA | (Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Greenbelt MD | (NASA/GSFC purple typed and purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Fairbanks AK | (Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | Corpus Christi TX | (Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| United States | 1968-04-04 | USS Austin | (US Navy black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover | |
| Apollo-Saturn (on other than Apollo-Saturn launch covers) | ||||
| United States | 1968-01-07 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Blue and red rubber-stamp and sticker) cachet on Surveyor-7 launch cover | Apollo-Saturn AS-204 (Apollo-5) launch (cachet subject and date in text does not match cancel date) |
1To demonstrate the structural and thermal integrity of the space vehicle and to verify adequacy of the Block II heatshield design for entry at lunar return conditions; also, a 70 mm still camera photographed Earth's surface every 10.6 seconds, taking 715 good-quality high-resolution pictures. Here are two examples of those photographs: image1 and image2
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