STS-135 + Soyuz TMA-21/02M FLOWN ISS cover

From the celebrated astrophilatelic collection of Jacques Bracke

A rare and historically important International Space Station–flown cover, carried aboard the ISS during STS-135, the final mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle program. The cover received two genuine in-space ISS postmarks, dated 10 July 2011 and 18 July 2011, documenting its presence aboard the orbiting laboratory during the closing days of the Shuttle era.

This exceptional piece is associated with Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-135 and the resident crews arriving aboard Soyuz TMA-21 and Soyuz TMA-02M. It is hand-signed by six astronauts and cosmonauts who were in space during this historic period, uniting the final Shuttle mission with the international long-duration crews responsible for continuing ISS operations after the Shuttle’s retirement.

Launched on 8 July 2011, Atlantis’s STS-135 mission marked the 135th and final flight of the Space Shuttle program. The mission delivered the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, filled with essential supplies, spare parts, and equipment intended to support the International Space Station after the Shuttle fleet’s retirement. Atlantis returned to Earth on 21 July 2011, concluding three decades of Shuttle operations and closing one of the defining chapters in the history of human spaceflight.

The cover’s first ISS cancellation, dated 10 July, was applied shortly after Atlantis docked with the station. Its second cancellation, dated 18 July, records the final phase of the mission, only days before Atlantis undocked and began its journey home. These two space postmarks make the item a tangible witness to the final Shuttle visit to the International Space Station.

With distinguished Jacques Bracke provenance, documented ISS flight, dual onboard cancellations, and six authentic astronaut and cosmonaut signatures, this is a highly desirable artifact for collectors of Space Shuttle, Soyuz, International Space Station, and astronaut-autograph memorabilia. A poignant flown memento from the very end of the Shuttle age.