Upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere ECHO 1A burned up on May 24, 1968. Because it was brighter than most stars, it was seen by more people than any other man-made object in space at that time. It was the pioneer of communications satellites. After it was placed in a low Earth orbit (LEO), a signal would be transmitted from Earth to the Echo satellite and then reflected or bounced off its surface, and then returned to Earth. Echo 1 was a passive communications satellite: it functioned as a reflector, not a transmitter. Project ECHO I, Issue of 1960 Įcho 1 sits fully inflated at a Navy hangar in Weeksville, North Carolinaīecause its shiny surface the large balloon-like satellite was also reflective of visible light rays, Echo 1A was visible to the naked eye over most of the Earth. Christensen engraved the border, the lettering, and the numerals. Chickering, of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, designed the stamp.
Chickering, intended the issue to salute the old as well as the new Fort Bliss and portray some of the highlights of the Fort's hundred-year history.
It was this effort that led the way to the successful production of the great rockets that carried satellites and Astronauts into space. made arrangements with these scientists and employed their knowledge in developing rockets at Fort Bliss in Post War United States. When they arrived in the United States, at Fort Bliss, they brought with them the knowledge of the V-2, and as such, the U.S. Robert Goddard following World War I, the Germans hit a peak production of V-2's during 19 at Peenemunde. The issue depicts what appears to be a rocket designed after the V-2 in the center, which technically makes it a "space stamp" in the Topographical world of philately.īased on findings made by Dr. Lawler dedicated the stamp in El Paso on November 5, 1948. Third Assistant Postmaster General Joseph L. This stamp was issued on the 100th anniversary of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, in its honor. By February 1946, over 100 Operation Paperclip scientists had arrived from Nazi Germany to develop rockets and were attached to the Office of the Chief of Ordnance Corps, Research and Development Service, Suboffice (Rocket), headed by Major James P. space exploration grew, so did the topic of space exploration on stamps.įort Bliss has a long and diverse history and functioned in many capacities over the years. In 1969, the Apollo VIII issue received 900,000 First-Day cancels while others received less than half this amount. The Project Mercury issue of 1962 had more than three million 'First Day of Issue' cancellations, while the average number of First-Day cancels for other commemorative issues at that time was around half a million. The history of space exploration is a nationally popular topic, as evidenced by record numbers of First-Day covers for postage stamps with space themes. 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. Next was the Project Mercury issue of 1962. The first issue to commemorate a space project by name was the ECHO I communications satellite commemorative issue of 1960. space vehicle was issued in 1948, the Fort Bliss issue. Post Office began commemorating the various events with its commemorative postage stamp issues. Keeping with the tradition of honoring the country's history on U.S. With the advent of robotic and human spaceflight a new era of American history had presented itself.
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