{"product_id":"astp-anniversary-flown-iss-cover","title":"ASTP Anniversary 2025 – FLOWN ISS cover","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAPOLLO–SOYUZ — 50TH ANNIVERSARY COVER SIGNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuly 15, 2025 — Fifty Years After the Historic Apollo–Soyuz Launch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn exceptional commemorative cover marking the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e50th anniversary of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, signed by the seven astronauts and cosmonauts serving aboard the International Space Station on the anniversary date:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSergey Ryzhikov — Roscosmos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAleksey Zubritskiy — Roscosmos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJonny Kim — NASA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnne McClain — NASA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNichole Ayers — NASA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTakuya Onishi — JAXA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKirill Peskov — Roscosmos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDated \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuly 15, 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, precisely fifty years after the simultaneous American and Soviet ventures that began one of the most consequential missions in the history of human spaceflight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat makes this cover particularly significant is the remarkable historical connection between its subject and its signatories: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApollo–Soyuz represented the beginning of international cooperation in human spaceflight; fifty years later, the astronauts and cosmonauts signing this cover were themselves living and working together aboard the International Space Station — the ultimate realization of that concept.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTHE HANDSHAKE THAT CHANGED SPACEFLIGHT\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuly 15, 1975\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, at the height of the Cold War, two spacecraft launched from opposite sides of the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soviet cosmonauts \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e departed aboard Soyuz 19. Hours later, an American Apollo spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald “Deke” Slayton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTwo days later, on July 17, Apollo and Soyuz rendezvoused and docked in Earth orbit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Stafford and Leonov opened the hatches and exchanged their famous \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“handshake in space,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e the moment became one of the enduring symbols of détente between the United States and Soviet Union.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor nations that had spent the preceding decade competing intensely for supremacy in space, Apollo–Soyuz demonstrated something fundamentally different: that spacecraft, engineers and crews developed on opposite sides of the Cold War could work together successfully in orbit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe mission was the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003efirst international human spaceflight partnership\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and established experience that would eventually contribute to later U.S.–Russian cooperation, including Shuttle–Mir and ultimately the International Space Station.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1975–2025 — FROM APOLLO–SOYUZ TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe significance of this particular cover extends considerably beyond a conventional anniversary commemoration.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExactly fifty years after Apollo and Soyuz launched, the International Space Station was orbiting Earth with an international crew that included astronauts and cosmonauts from the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnited States, Russia and Japan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn July 15, 2025, the seven signatories represented the operational reality of the principle first demonstrated so dramatically by Apollo–Soyuz half a century earlier: international crews living, conducting scientific research and operating spacecraft together in orbit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe signatures therefore create an extraordinary connection between \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003etwo generations of international human spaceflight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1975, Stafford, Brand and Slayton represented the United States while Leonov and Kubasov represented the Soviet Union.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFifty years later, this cover brings together:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNASA:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Jonny Kim, Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRoscosmos:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Sergey Ryzhikov, Aleksey Zubritskiy and Kirill Peskov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJAXA:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Takuya Onishi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRather than merely commemorating history, these seven spacefarers were themselves participants in the international spaceflight partnership that Apollo–Soyuz helped make possible.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCOLLECTOR SIGNIFICANCE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor the specialist collector, the appeal of this cover lies in the unusual convergence of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003edate, subject and signatures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApollo–Soyuz commemorative material is an established field within space philately and astronaut autograph collecting. Likewise, multi-signed International Space Station material is highly desirable because it documents particular expedition crews and periods aboard the orbital complex.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe present cover combines both themes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIts date — \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e15 July 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — marks exactly half a century since the Apollo–Soyuz launches.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIts subject commemorates the mission widely regarded as the symbolic beginning of U.S.–Soviet cooperation in human spaceflight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd its seven signatures represent the international crew actually aboard mankind’s permanently inhabited orbital laboratory on that anniversary.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis creates an unusually appropriate \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“then and now” artifact of international space exploration\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFROM COLD WAR RIVALS TO PARTNERS IN ORBIT\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1975, the concept of American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts docking their spacecraft and working together was extraordinary.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApollo–Soyuz lasted only days, but its symbolism proved far more enduring.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe cooperation pioneered during the mission developed over subsequent decades into increasingly ambitious joint programs. By the twenty-first century, multinational crews routinely lived and worked together aboard the International Space Station for months at a time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe contrast is striking:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1975 — two rival superpowers meet experimentally in orbit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2025 — astronauts and cosmonauts from multiple nations routinely share a permanent laboratory in space.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFew commemorative pieces illustrate that progression as directly as a 50th-anniversary Apollo–Soyuz cover bearing the signatures of an international ISS crew serving together on the anniversary itself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAN OUTSTANDING ANNIVERSARY ASSOCIATION PIECE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is more than a cover commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of a historic mission.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt forms a tangible bridge between the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003efirst great experiment in international human spaceflight and the international partnership that followed from it\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom Stafford and Leonov’s handshake in 1975 to American, Russian and Japanese spacefarers working side by side aboard the ISS fifty years later, the piece encapsulates half a century of cooperation in orbit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAPOLLO–SOYUZ\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e15 JULY 1975 — 15 JULY 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e50 years of international human spaceflight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSigned by all seven astronauts and cosmonauts serving aboard the International Space Station on the anniversary date.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA particularly evocative and historically appropriate piece for the advanced collector of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApollo–Soyuz, International Space Station, astronaut autograph and international spaceflight memorabilia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Been in Space","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58412589220104,"sku":"12709","price":295.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1490\/3832\/files\/12709_762935bf-de84-453e-93ad-3a44b8f37293.jpg?v=1786392958","url":"https:\/\/www.beeninspace.com\/products\/astp-anniversary-flown-iss-cover","provider":"BEEN IN SPACE","version":"1.0","type":"link"}