{"product_id":"soyuz-tm-3-landing-cover-levchenko-11275","title":"Soyuz TM-3 - crewsigned landing cover - Anatoly Levchenko","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSOYUZ TM-3 ARKALYK LANDING COVER\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSigned by the Complete Landing Crew • Including Rare Anatoly Levchenko Autograph\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the Personal Collection of Renowned Astrophilatelist Jacques Bracke\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn exceptional \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoyuz TM-3 landing cover\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, cancelled at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArkalyk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and hand-signed by the spacecraft’s complete three-member return crew:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYuri Romanenko — Commander\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAleksandr Aleksandrov — Flight Engineer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnatoly Levchenko — Research Cosmonaut and Buran Test Pilot\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe cover comes from the personal collection of renowned Belgian astrophilatelist \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJacques Bracke\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, whose extensive collection encompassed flown artifacts, signed covers, photographs and other important material from the Soviet, Russian and American space programs. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoyuz TM-3: Historical Background\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoyuz TM-3 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e22 July 1987\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and docked with the Mir space station two days later. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAleksandrov remained aboard Mir with long-duration commander Yuri Romanenko. Soyuz TM-3 stayed docked to the station for more than five months, serving as the resident crew’s return and emergency-rescue spacecraft.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe spacecraft finally departed Mir on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e29 December 1987\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and landed northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, carrying Romanenko, Aleksandrov and visiting Buran test pilot Anatoly Levchenko. Mission records confirm that Levchenko returned aboard Soyuz TM-3 after launching eight days earlier aboard Soyuz TM-4.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLanding crew\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYuri Romanenko\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCommander of Mir’s second resident expedition. His mission lasted more than 326 days, establishing a new endurance record at the time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAleksandr Aleksandrov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe only cosmonaut who both launched and landed aboard Soyuz TM-3.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnatoly Levchenko\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA distinguished test pilot and cosmonaut assigned to the Soviet Buran reusable spacecraft program.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnatoly Levchenko: One of the Rarest Cosmonaut Autographs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLevchenko’s signature is considered particularly difficult to obtain because his career as a flown cosmonaut was exceptionally brief.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe was selected from the Gromov Flight Research Institute’s group of test pilots and trained for the Soviet \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBuran space-shuttle program\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Levchenko was intended as a potential pilot—and is widely documented as a planned backup commander—for Buran’s first crewed test flight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo gain direct experience of operating after exposure to weightlessness, he launched aboard \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoyuz TM-4 on 21 December 1987\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e with Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov. After spending approximately eight days in space, he returned aboard Soyuz TM-3 with Romanenko and Aleksandrov on 29 December.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLevchenko died on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e6 August 1988\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, less than eight months after his flight and only a few months before Buran’s successful uncrewed orbital mission. His early death left very limited opportunity for him to sign philatelic and commemorative material. As a result, authentic Levchenko signatures rank among the most elusive autographs of the later Soviet human-spaceflight era.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile comparisons with the famously rare Soyuz 11 crew signatures are necessarily subjective, Levchenko is widely regarded by advanced collectors as one of the most difficult flown Soviet cosmonauts to obtain in signed material.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Arkalyk Landing Connection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArkalyk, in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, served for decades as an important recovery center for returning Soviet spacecraft. Landing and recovery covers cancelled there have a direct geographical connection to the final phase of Soyuz missions and occupy a distinct place in astrophilately.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoyuz TM-3 landed approximately \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e140 kilometres northeast of Arkalyk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e on 29 December 1987. The Arkalyk cancellation therefore gives this cover a particularly appropriate association with the recovery of Romanenko, Aleksandrov and Levchenko.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCollecting Significance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis cover combines several especially desirable characteristics:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-spread=\"false\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArkalyk cancellation associated with the Soyuz TM-3 landing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSignatures of the complete three-member landing crew\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRare autograph of Buran test pilot Anatoly Levchenko\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAssociation with Yuri Romanenko’s record-setting Mir expedition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eConnection to both the Soyuz TM-3 and Soyuz TM-4 missions\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProvenance from the personal collection of Jacques Bracke\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA historically important piece of Soviet space philately, connecting the early Mir program, an international Soviet–Syrian mission and the unrealized crewed ambitions of the Buran space-shuttle project.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Been in Space","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58254420214024,"sku":"11275","price":495.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1490\/3832\/files\/11275.jpg?v=1784304480","url":"https:\/\/www.beeninspace.com\/products\/soyuz-tm-3-landing-cover-levchenko-11275","provider":"BEEN IN SPACE","version":"1.0","type":"link"}