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Monday, September 4, 2017

SPUTNIK - The Beginning of the Space Race

All right, I decided after posting several links to my Olympic Stamp Pages in my blog on the Stamp Collecting Facebook groups I'm in, I needed to start getting more active in my Space Exploration stamp collection. I haven't done anything with it in years!

So I pulled out my envelope full of space stamps and covers, and my stock albums with stock pages full of space stamps. I put together two or three pages with some stamps that obviously fit together. Then realized I had forgotten a few. Grrr.... I realized I needed to go through and sort all of my space stamps before I try mounting them on pages. Spent two full days doing that! Almost done...

Here is the result of some of my mounting of my space stamps. Cover page first!


In 1955 both the United States and the Soviet Union announced plans to launch artificial satellites. Then on October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1. The satellite's function was to collect air density, temperature, cosmic radiation, and meteoroid data.


This stamp was issued on November 5, 1957 to commemorate the launch of Sputnik 1.


This stamp commemorates the 5th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1.


The stamp on the left was produced in 1963 to publish the Soviet Union's space achievements. The one on the right was issued in 1987 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Sputnik launches.

The whole page in my album looks like this:


The launching of the Sputnik satellites stunned the United States. Scientists and politicians wondered how America could have fallen so far behind the Soviets in astronautics.


This souvenir sheet was issued to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1.


On November 3, 1957 the Soviets launched a second satellite, Sputnik 2. It carried a dog named Laika, the first animal to soar into outer space. The satellite's function was to collect biomedical, cosmic radiation, solar x-ray, and ultraviolet data.


This stamp was issued on December 28th, 1957 after the launch of Sputnik 2. The design was the same as the November 5th issue but different in color and larger in size.


 

This set of four stamps with the design of a symbolic figure greeting the return of Sputnik 2 to earth were issued on November 3, 1957.

The page in my album:


Then Sputnik 3 was launched on May 15, 1958 and was an orbiting geophysical space laboratory.


The label on this stamp give details of the launch.


Sputnik 4 was launched on May 15, 1960 and carried an artificial cosmonaut.


Then on August 19, 1960 Sputnik 5 was launched carrying two dongs, Belka and Strelka. They orbited the earth for two days. These two stamps, and the postcard were issued to commemorate their flight.


And, the page in my album:


Sputnik 8 was launched as an interplanetary space probe to Venus. It was launched on February 12, 1961.


Sputnik 9 launched on March 8, 1961 again carrying a dog, named Chermushka


On March 25, 1961 Sputnik 10 was launched, again carrying a dog, named Zvezdochka.


Album page:


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