Apollo 15 postage stamp incident

Apollo 15 postage stamp incident

The Apollo 15 postage stamp incident occurred within the United States astronaut corps in 1971. The crew of Apollo 15 took 398 commemorative postage stamp covers with them on their trip to the Moon (400 were printed, but 2 were damaged and destroyed prior to being packaged), with the understanding that, when they returned, 100 of the covers were to be sold to the German stamp dealer who provided them. Those 100 covers are known today by philatelists as the "Sieger covers," named such after the dealer, Hermann Sieger. The remaining 298 covers were to be kept by the crew members as souvenirs but were later confiscated by NASA when the public sale of Sieger's covers was discovered soon after the mission. The crew's 298 covers were not returned until 1983, after the astronauts filed suit against the government for their return, citing NASA's partnership with the U.S. Postal Service to sell covers flown on the space shuttle.

Although taking souvenirs into space was not illegal nor prohibited by NASA at the time (in fact, the Apollo 15 crew had 243 authorized covers on-board in addition to the 398 unauthorized covers), the discovery of the Sieger covers' sale caused Congress to take notice and led to NASA taking disciplinary action against several Apollo astronauts, including Apollo 15 commander David Scott, who admitted to carrying the stamps, and Jack Swigert, who was not involved in the incident directly but was less than forthcoming when asked to provide information to investigators about the practice of carrying souvenirs aboard spacecraft. Scott and fellow Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden were reassigned to non-flight roles within NASA, and James Irwin resigned to pursue a Christian ministry. Congressional questioning of NASA officials over the affair was a further source of embarrassment for the agency.

External links

* [http://www.collectspace.com/resources/flown_a15_articlescarried.html NASA News Release 72-189, "Articles Carried on Manned Space Flights"]
* [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/940711/archive_013131_7.htm U.S. News, "When America Went To The Moon"]
* [http://www.collectspace.com/resources/profiles/profiles_a15sieger.html The Apollo 15 "Sieger" Covers]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Apollo 8 — Infobox Space mission mission name = Apollo 8 insignia = Apollo 8 patch.png command module = CM 103 mass 28,817 kg service module = SM 103 lunar module = Lunar Test Article (LTA B) mass 9,026 kg booster = Saturn V SA 503 crew size = 3 launch pad …   Wikipedia

  • David Scott — For other people named David Scott, see David Scott (disambiguation). David Scott …   Wikipedia

  • Omega Speedmaster — Moonwatch redirects here. For the science program, see Operation Moonwatch. Omega Speedmaster Omega Speedmaster Professional Ref. 145.012 Manufacturer Omega Also called …   Wikipedia

  • NASA Astronaut Group 5 — Main article: List of astronauts by selection NASA s Astronaut Group 5 (the Original 19 ) selected by NASA in April 1966. Of the six Lunar Module Pilots that walked on the Moon, three came from Group 5. The group as a whole is roughly split… …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Athos — Ἅγιον Ὄρος Agion Oros (Αυτόνομη Μοναστικὴ Πολιτεία Ἁγίου Ὄρους) Aftonomi Monastiki Politia Agiou Orous location of Mount Athos in Greece …   Wikipedia

  • Harry S. Truman — This article is about the United States president. For other uses of the name, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). Harry Truman 33rd President of the United States …   Wikipedia

  • Ella Fitzgerald — Infobox musical artist Name = Ella Fitzgerald Img capt = photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Background = solo singer Birth name = Ella Jane Fitzgerald Alias = First Lady of Song; Lady Ella Born = birth date|mf=yes|1917|4|25 Newport News, Virginia, U …   Wikipedia

  • Cold War — For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). United States President …   Wikipedia

  • Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview        Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… …   Universalium

  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — Gandhi redirects here. For other uses, see Gandhi (disambiguation). Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”