Society News and Space Stamp News

Archives - Page 2

 

For Sale

At £9.99 a complete set of 12 mint high value mini-sheets from the Commonwealth countries omnibus edition celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Moon
Landing in 1999 but free to any member introducing a new member to the Society. If interested please contact Godfrey Winston.

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Steve Bennett Update

I have previously reported in Orbit the activities of Manchester rocketeer, Steve Bennett, whose intention is to win the £6.25 million prize for the first private enterprise team to launch a rocket 62 miles above the Earth with three people on board and return them safely, writes John Bony
On course for that momentous occasion is his intention to pilot his rocket NOVA before the end of this year to the requisite 62 miles above Earth and he has already made 60 parachute jumps to prepare for an emergency descent. An manned test of NOVA will probably have taken place by the time you read this (it was scheduled for September). The rocket is 33 feet high and weighs 1,430 lbs so if the launch is successful it will be "all systems go" for Bennett’s flight into space.
Twenty teams mostly in the USA are striving to get this prize but Steve considers he will win it in 2003.

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Congress Medal For Our Chair

Congratulations to our Chairperson the esteemed Margaret Morris of Paisley who was awarded the Association of British Philatelic Societies Congress Medal for 2001 and who received it in a presentation in late Summer.
British members can meet Margaret in person at the Scottish National Stamp, Postal History Exhibition held over the weekend of November 24/25 in Glasgow.

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Stampex

STAMPEX went very well with tremendous exposure for the Society.  Both Dutchmen Bart Beimers and Arie Olckers scored well with their exhibits (80 and 72) respectively and although I was there on the Saturday I missed Arie who turned up on Sunday but he spent some time with Margaret Morris and took photos but apparently he had his camera stolen on the way home !  Very sad and disappointing.  British ASSS members Margaret Morris and Dave Saunders scored 81 and 71 respectively.

Lots of members came along over the five days and we are now looking under Margaret's leadership to trying to organise the occasional regional meeting within Britain.  
There were 40+ Astro frames, a big banner and a nice booth for people to drop in and take away copies of Orbit.

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Margaret Morris at Minehead

Our Glasgow member Margaret Morris has accepted an invitation from Dr Colin Ross of Minehead & District Stamp Club to give her presentation entitled "The Way to the Stars" on Monday September 17th at 730 p.m. in The Friends Meeting House in Bancks Street Minehead. She will be doing this on her way to exhibit at ASTRO STAMPEX. Any ASSS member who is able to attend will be made most welcome. (Contact Dr Ross at 01984 632782).

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Anaheim Eclipse

Linn’s Stamp News reports that the U.S. $11.75 Earth hologram stamp has been found in a near-eclipse format. Only one of this remarkable error has been reported, advises John Berry.
Another reported error in the U.S. Space Achievement issue concerns the "Exploring the Solar System" sheet featuring five pentagonal stamps, where one (only) fully imperforate sheet has been found.

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Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations to our celebrated member Francis KiddIe of Fleet in Hampshire who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to philately at the Fifth Annual Rowland Hill Awards. Francis writes a regular column for STAMP magazine on the topic of Cinderella (Poster) stamps and is current Chairman of the British Philatelic Trust.

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Worldwide FDC Covers Postmarks

Register your interests and receive a copy of the relevant lists. Thematics— like Space—catered for. Wants lists invited.
Write to First Day Covers Ltd, Nimrod House, Muckhart, Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland FKJ14 7JH E-mail: embrey@waitrose.com

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Interested in Cloth Mission Patches?

If this is a sideline to your collection or you would just like to begin do send for the latest free catalogue of Soviet Russian and USA mission patches from Stewart Aviation, P.Q.Box 7, Market Harborough, Leicester, LE16 8XL. Prices for individual mission patches range between £3 and £5.

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Ben Ramkissoon is our New U.S.Rep

Immediate Past President of the ATA Space Unit, and internationally known Astrophilatelic judge Dr Reuben A. Ramkissoon has kindly agreed to be our U.S. rep, filling a vacancy caused by the resignation of Paul Goldblatt. We are delighted to welcome Ben, who has long been an admirer of Orbit to this role and trust his energies will help to promote the ASSS in the U.S.

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Non-Philatelic Books of Interest

Four texts of background interest to space stamp collectors are featured in the May issue of Spaceflight magazine, which some of our members also subscribe to.
London ASSS member Rex Hall is associated with the first two firstly as Editor of The History of Mir 1986-2000, which contains eleven extended and illustrated essays on the Russian space station de-orbited finally in March. This text is available at a price of £25 ($46) by writing to The British Interplanetary Society, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London 5W8 1SZ.

Rex Hall and David J. Shayler, stalwart of the Midlands Spaceflight Society have now also published their 400 page text 'The Rocket Men: Vostok and Voskhod—The First Soviet
Manned Spaceflights' @ £16.50, also available from the British Interplanetary Society.

Also noted in the May Spaceflight are a 480 page book 'Peenemunde: the extraordinary story of Hitler’s secret weapons V-I and V-2', with a foreword by Dr Ernst Stuhlinger and 'Tsiolkovsky to Sputnik (1857-1957)'. Both books by Guido De Maeseneer are available at £29 ($43) and £8.25 ($11.95) respectively by writing to A.J. Publishing Ltd., 2231 Turner St, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Further details at www.spacebooks.tv

 

 

 

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