The ESA archives is celebrating the second flight of Ariane-6 with the opening of our set of commemorative postage stamps for flights, including many of the early Ariane launches. Join us as we delve into the world of astro-philately and find out more about this unique collection!
This latest opening of material includes commemorative postage stamps, envelopes, cachets, postmarks and first day covers (or FDCs – a stamp on an envelope or card which has been postmarked and used on the first day of issue). These memorabilia were produced for the ESA Philatelic Club for various ESA flights and programmes, with the majority for Ariane flights, but some other examples for Columbus or other projects.
Particular highlights include stamps for Ariane launches from V12 (1985) until V54 (1992), among which is an envelope produced for the launch of Giotto on Ariane V-14 in July 1985, franked with a collection of Giotto mission or Kourou cachets and postmarks, giving us a survey of the Ariane legacy from a different perspective!
ESA’s philatelic connections
The ESA Philatelic Club (with an associated Philatelic Club at establishments such as ESTEC) was one of ESA’s longest running societies - we believe it was founded in 1966 at ESTEC during the ESRO years and operated until the early 2000s (?). Members could register to receive envelopes and stamps related to important space events, such as these launches.
As the ESA body responsible for the production and diffusion of philatelic products and cachets, the Club is the original source of the material in this collection, and had the exclusive right to apply these markings, which were distributed outside ESA to collectors and individuals by the French Nice-based publisher, Editions Lollini.
This collection came to the ESA Archives as the private collection of a member of ESA staff in the Directorate of Space Transportation, and a former member of ESA Philatelic Club. We are very grateful to them for their generous donation, and for their commitment to the collective memory of ESA.
ESA and its staff have also taken part in a multitude of philatelic events, with some dating back to the first years of the Agency. In fact, the third and fourth International Philatelic Exhibitions (Spacephil 76 and Spacephil 79) were hosted at ESTEC, held from 30 April to 2 May 1976 and 28 to 30 April 1979 respectively. (You can see photographs from both in the SHIP database, using the search term below).
The holdings of the ESA Archives also includes a 1983 letter, sent by the then Head of the Director General's Cabinet, Wilhelm Brado, to the President of the ESTEC Philatelic Club. In it, Brado confirms that ESA would allow its participants in the Journées Européennes d'Astrophilatélie (16-18 April 1983 in Bordeaux) a day of special leave, demonstrating the importance attached to these events for outreach.
How to access the collection
Browse the collection in the SHIP database, using the search term ‘stamps’.
