Article No.: 10929
An exceptionally rare flown Mir space station cover associated with both Soyuz TM-13 and Soyuz TM-14, hand-signed by eight astronauts and cosmonauts connected with these historically intertwined missions.
The cover documents a fascinating transitional period aboard Mir. Soyuz TM-13, launched in October 1991, carried Volkov, Aubakirov and Austrian cosmonaut Franz Viehböck to the station, while Volkov subsequently joined Sergei Krikalev for Mir’s 10th principal expedition. In March 1992, Soyuz TM-14 arrived carrying Viktorenko, Kaleri and German astronaut Klaus-Dietrich Flade. Flade returned aboard TM-13 with Volkov and Krikalev, while TM-14 later returned Viktorenko and Kaleri together with French astronaut Michel Tognini.
Of particular importance are the two special German MIR ’92 onboard postmarks, one applied to the reverse, commemorating Flade’s historic German-Russian mission. Comparable Mir postal records confirm the use of both round and rectangular German MIR ’92 board cancellations aboard the station.
Provenance: From the personal collection of renowned astrophilatelist Jacques Bracke.
Combining actual Mir flight carriage, eight international crew signatures, two consecutive Soyuz missions, and scarce German onboard postal markings, this is an outstanding artifact from the formative post-Soviet era of international human spaceflight.