STS-121 – Expedition 13 crewsigned FLOWN ISS Energia cover – Lisa Nowak

From the celebrated astrophilatelic collection of Jacques Bracke

An exceptional space-flown International Space Station cover associated with Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-121 and ISS Expedition 13, hand-signed by the principal astronauts and cosmonauts involved in this historic 2006 mission.

The cover bears the signatures of the STS-121 shuttle crew members Steven Lindsey, Mark Kelly, Michael Fossum, Piers Sellers, Lisa Nowak, and Stephanie Wilson, together with Expedition 13 residents Jeffrey Williams and Pavel Vinogradov. It does not include Thomas Reiter, who launched to the ISS aboard Discovery as part of STS-121 and later returned to Earth on a subsequent shuttle mission.

Launched on 4 July 2006, STS-121 was Discovery’s second post-Columbia return-to-flight mission and an important step toward the full resumption of Space Shuttle operations supporting International Space Station assembly. During the mission, Discovery delivered supplies and equipment, conducted critical inspection and repair-related demonstrations, and transported ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter to the station, restoring the ISS to a three-person long-duration crew.

This cover was carried aboard the International Space Station and postmarked in space, then officially issued and sold by RKK Energia. It brings together the shuttle crew and the resident Expedition 13 crew in a highly desirable flown-and-signed astrophilatelic artifact.

Of particular collector interest are the signatures of Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson, making this an especially compelling STS-121 crew-signed item. The combination of documented ISS carriage, an onboard postmark, official RKK Energia issue, prominent expedition signatures, and distinguished Jacques Bracke provenance makes this a notable addition to any advanced Space Shuttle, ISS, or astronaut-autograph collection.

Lisa Nowak later became infamous with the incident involving Bill Oefelein.

Stephanie Wilson is a notorious non-signer and potential candidate for the first woman on the moon in the Artemis program!

Unflown crewsigned Shuttle covers are selling between $2000-$3000 already in auctions.