silentambassadors:[This stamp enthusiast apologizes for any incoherence in today’s post: my eyes kee

silentambassadors:[This stamp enthusiast apologizes for any incoherence in today’s post: my eyes keep leaking.]  Today is the 47th anniversary of the loss of three of NASA’s early astronauts: Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Ed White, the crew of Apollo 1 [which in actuality was the third flight but the first manned flight of the Apollo program; after their deaths, the next Apollo mission was numbered 4] [which is why if you’ve been buying Apollo 2 and Apollo 3 paraphernalia all these years, I have some bad news for you].  With a flight date scheduled for February 21, 1967 (already moved back from November 1966), the crew were in a launch rehearsal when a fire started in the Command Module and all three  were killed.  They were all awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor posthumously.  When Apollo 11 landed on the moon two and a half years later, they left an Apollo 1 mission patch there in honor of Grissom (second American in space, first American to return to space), White (first American to take a walk in space), and Chaffee (who, despite the ferocity of a fire fed by pure oxygen in a small space, stayed strapped to his seat, communicating with flight control, just as he was supposed to do in an emergency).  Tonight, gentlemen, as most nights, I’ll be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you.Stamp details:Stamps on top:Issued on: January 27, 1968From: Malé, Republic of MaldivesSC #250, 254Second row left:Issued on: April 9, 2011From: Chișinău, MoldovaWNS #MD019.11Second row right:Issued in: 1969From: Emirate of AjmanMC #460Third row left:Issued on: December 14, 1972From: Malabo, Equatorial GuineaMC #190Third row right:Issued on: April 12, 1973From: Prague, CzechoslovakiaMC #2135Fourth row:Issued on: September 22, 2000From: Antananarivo, MadagascarSW #2567Stamp on bottom:Issued on: December 27, 1972From: Bucharest, Socialist Republic of RomaniaSC #2388 -- source link

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