My first postcard shows the astronaut crew of Apollo 7 (L-R):
- Walter Cunningham, Lunar Module Pilot
- Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Commander
- Donn F. Eisele, Command Module Pilot
These three astronauts never flew again, possibly due to tension between them and Mission Control. As of 2011, Cunningham is the only surviving member of the crew. Eisele died in 1987 and Schirra in 2007.
Apollo 7 was an 11-day Earth-orbital mission launched on October 11, 1968. It was the first manned mission in the Apollo space program, and the first manned U. S. space flight after a cabin fire during a launch pad test in 1967 killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned Apollo mission. Apollo 7 was the first U.S. three man mission, the first flight of the Apollo space suits, and the first live national TV from space during a manned space flight.
My second postcard shows a picture of mission specialist Bruce McCandless taken from the shuttle Challenger. The first untethered spacewalk was made by McCandless utilizing the Manned Maneuvering Unit on February 7, 1984, during Challenger mission STS-41-B .
Apollo 7 was an 11-day Earth-orbital mission launched on October 11, 1968. It was the first manned mission in the Apollo space program, and the first manned U. S. space flight after a cabin fire during a launch pad test in 1967 killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned Apollo mission. Apollo 7 was the first U.S. three man mission, the first flight of the Apollo space suits, and the first live national TV from space during a manned space flight.
My second postcard shows a picture of mission specialist Bruce McCandless taken from the shuttle Challenger. The first untethered spacewalk was made by McCandless utilizing the Manned Maneuvering Unit on February 7, 1984, during Challenger mission STS-41-B .
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. Its first flight was on April 4, 1983. It completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-L on January 28, 1986. The accident resulted in the death of all seven crew members and led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet. Shuttle missions resumed in 1988 with the launch of the third Space Shuttle Discovery. Challenger itself was replaced by the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which first launched in 1992. Endeavour was constructed from spare parts originally meant for Challenger and the other shuttles in the fleet.
Atlantis was NASA's fourth space shuttle. It lifted off on its maiden voyage on Oct. 3, 1985. The final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, was a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. It began when space shuttle Atlantis was launched July 8, 2011. Atlantis carried a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The astronauts were Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. The shuttle returned and landed back at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Thursday July 21, 2011 at 5:57 a.m. EDT, after 200 orbits around Earth.
Atlantis was NASA's fourth space shuttle. It lifted off on its maiden voyage on Oct. 3, 1985. The final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, was a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. It began when space shuttle Atlantis was launched July 8, 2011. Atlantis carried a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The astronauts were Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. The shuttle returned and landed back at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Thursday July 21, 2011 at 5:57 a.m. EDT, after 200 orbits around Earth.
What an appropriate post. I've watched Atlantis land today. Pity it was so dark at the time.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures bring it home to you how dangerous these missions actually were, and as you say, some of the crews did actually lose their lives. That almost iconic ‘untethered’ picture is amazing isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteLord! It Would Completely Freak Me Out To Get A Postcard From Outer Space!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThere were so many "first" on these missions. Each mission was a first in it's own right as NASA explored how to explore the universe.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and recalling the way we thrilled to that event. How has it become sepia already, it was just yesterday! well last year surely. :-)
ReplyDeleteHear in western PA there is a town, Apollo, an old rail road town in dire straits today. They just hosted their 3rd annual Apollo Moon Walk Festival.
A great collection of images. I saw Atlantis on the launch pad last month and followed its voyage with great interest on my return to England.
ReplyDeleteI am once again impressed that you are able to come up with postcards for a theme like this.
ReplyDeleteHats off to you again for finding such cool post cards for the theme and making it just so interesting to follow!
ReplyDeleteWonderful postcards, and thanks so much for posting the Atlantis footage. I wasn't able to watch it lift off and I'm glad I got a chance to do so now.
ReplyDeleteI loved that they called this last flight a "sentimental journey."
Great postcard to celebrate the end of an era
ReplyDeleteIt was all such an exciting time. I remember it so well.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why there aren't more space station/shuttle postcards? I have often wished there was a 24 hr TV channel broadcasting nothing except the view from space.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of space postcards published in the U. S. These were probably sold mainly in Florida. I bought a group in 1981 from Apollos Pictures of Melbourne, Florida. They were advertised to postcard collectors and could be ordered through the mail.
ReplyDeletecorrection: Apollo Pictures
ReplyDelete