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Apollo 14 Rare Backup Crew (Cernan, Evans, Engle) Signed Launch Cover. ... (Total: 2 )
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Sold on Sep 27, 2025 for:
$475.00
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Description
Apollo 14 Rare Backup Crew (Cernan, Evans, Engle) Signed Launch Cover. A philatelic cover with a 6¢ "Apollo 8" stamp affixed at right bearing a clear hand cancelation from Kennedy Space Center dated January 31, 1971, the day that Apollo 14 was launched. The bold black felt tip signatures at left have the names typed beneath: "Gene Cernan", "Ron Evans", and "Joe Engle". "Apollo 14/ Back-up Crew" is typed above the stamp at right. Joe Engle was originally positioned to serve as the LMP for Apollo 17, following NASA's standard crew rotation policy. As part of the Apollo 14 backup crew, Engle was in line for the Apollo 17 mission. However, the cancellation of Apollo missions 18 through 20 due to budget constraints significantly altered crew assignments. This reduction intensified pressure from the scientific community to ensure that a professional scientist, specifically a geologist, participated in a lunar landing before the program concluded. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, a trained geologist and member of the Apollo 15 backup crew, was the only professional geologist in NASA's astronaut corps at the time. NASA made the decision to assign Schmitt to Apollo 17 as the Lunar Module Pilot, replacing Engle. Extremely rare and desirable. Unaddressed. Excellent. Included, for purposes of display or matting, is a glossy color print of this backup crew posed in white spacesuits.While Engle did not have the opportunity to walk on the Moon, his contributions to space exploration were substantial. He later commanded two Space Shuttle missions, STS-2 in 1981 and STS-51-I in 1985, and was notably the only astronaut to manually pilot the Space Shuttle through re-entry and landing. Engle's reassignment from Apollo 17 underscores the complex interplay between scientific objectives and crew assignments during the Apollo program's final missions. From the Family Collection of Jacques Bracke.
Auction Info
2025 September 27 Space Exploration Showcase Auction #33169 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2025
27th
Saturday
Internet/Mail Bids: 10
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 105
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