U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps
With the advent of robotic and human spaceflight a new era of American history had presented itself. Keeping with the tradition of honoring the country's history on U.S. postage stamps, the U.S. Post Office began commemorating the various events with its commemorative postage stamp issues. The first U.S. Postage issue to depict a U.S. space vehicle was issued in 1948, the Fort Bliss issue. The first issue to commemorate a space project by name was the ECHO I communications satellite commemorative issue of 1960. Next was the Project Mercury issue of 1962. As U.S. space exploration progressed a variety of other commemorative issues followed, many of which bear accurate depictions of satellites, space capsules, Apollo Lunar Modules, space suits, and other items of interest.
Accomplishments in SpaceCommemorative Issue of 1967
Fort Bliss Issue of 1948
ECHO I, Issue of 1960
Echo 1 sits fully inflated at a Navy hangar in Weeksville, North Carolina
Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each of the two American spacecraft, launched in 1960 and 1964, were metalized balloon satellites acting as passive reflectors of microwave signals. Communication signals were transmitted from one location on Earth and bounced off the surface of the satellite to another Earth location.
Echo 1 sits fully inflated at a Navy hangar in Weeksville, North Carolina.
Echo 2
Holmdel Horn Antenna, constructed for Project Echo, and later used to discover the cosmic microwave background radiation.
T. Keith Glennan shows LBJ aluminized Mylar film used to make Echo I