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# sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS

An interesting history of two covers from archives of cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh.

Covers with pictures of Yuri Gagarin monument in Star City flown on board space stations Salyut-7, MIR and two ISS expeditions.

Signed by Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz T-14 crew covers taken on orbit by Soyuz T-15 crew Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov on March 13, 1986.Space endurance record holders Kizim and Solovyov were launched in the last Soyuz T vehicle to perform a difficult duel mission:to activate the new MIR station (launched February 20, 1986) and to retrieve scientific experiments from Salyut-7 station.Kizim and Solovyov docked with MIR on March 15, when they used Soyuz T-15 to transfer to Salyut-7.Aboard Salyut-7, they performed two EVA and returned to MIR on June 25 to complete their mission.

Covers spent 125 days in space  in 1986.On board MIR and Salyut-7 cancelled with postmarks of both space stations.After return from cosmos covers returned to cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh and for almost 20 years remained in his personal archives until were kindly shared with me.

Next time covers flown with Soyuz TMA-4/ISS-9 commander cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.Gennady cancelled covers with main ISS handstamp "Board of International Space Station".Covers logged additional 187 days in cosmos.Finally, Soyuz TMA-6/ISS-11 commander Sergei Krikalev takes these covers on his six world's record flight (803 days spent on orbit total) for another 179 days.

Another interesting moment is that these covers are first, which brought to MIR and last ones flown on Salyut-7.Delivered to and from orbit on last ship of Soyuz T family craft (Soyuz T-15)

Third image depicts Sergei Krikalev with these covers after return from this flight.Fourth image depicts American space tourist Greg Olsen with these covers.Greg was on board Soyuz TMA-6 with Sergei on the way back to Earth and kindly signed covers as well.

Covers spent over a year on orbit.Travelled on orbit between MIR and Salyut-7 stations.Flown in two ISS expeditions.Cancelled with postmarks of space stations Salyut-7, MIR, ISS and special personal ISS-11 hand stamp of Sergei Krikalev.

Covers have signatures of Soyuz T-13 "Salyut station rescue team" Dzhanibekov and Savinykh, Soyuz T-14 team Volkov, Vasyutin, Grechko.Autographed by Soyuz T-15 crew Kizim and Solovyov, plus Sergei Krikalev and Greg Olsen from Soyuz TMA-6.

Historic artifact, which started its first space journey during Cold War period.Back at that time no one could say that one day in future same piece will fly again with joint Russian-American crew.


 # sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS 1
 # sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS 2
 # sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS 3
 # sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS 4
 # sk300 Cover flown Salyut-7, MIR and ISS 5

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 04 January, 2007.