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China Space Program - Historic Flown Cover Set from China's First Manned Spaceflight Shenzhou 5 (2003), featuring 14 Authe... (Total: 2 Items)
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Description
China Space Program - Historic Flown Cover Set from China's First Manned Spaceflight Shenzhou 5 (2003), featuring 14 Authentic Autographs of China's First-Generation Taikonaut Corps. This is One of Only 12 Sets Issued from the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSE)! An ultra- rare and momentous artifact from the dawn of China's manned space program: a complete matched set of two official flown covers from the historic Shenzhou 5 mission, carried aboard the spacecraft during China's first crewed spaceflight on October 15-16, 2003. This set was issued by the China Manned Space Engineering Office, one of the two key agencies responsible for China's manned spaceflight operations.Each cover in the set-one commemorating launch, the other recovery-is postmarked at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 6, 2003, the date they were sealed in the spacecraft. Both covers feature embossed mission markings and auxiliary cancels denoting launch and landing, confirming their flight history. What elevates this set beyond rarity is its complete set of 14 autographs from the inaugural Chinese taikonaut corps. The signatures were added on October 18, 2003, shortly after the successful recovery of Shenzhou 5, when the spacecraft container was officially opened at Beijing Space City. Each cover in this set bears seven original signatures, distributed across the two envelopes:
Launch Cover Autographs: Pan Zhanchun, Chen Quan, Zhao Chuandong, Liu Buoming, Liu Wang, Fei Junlong, & Wu Jie.
Landing Cover Autographs: Zhang Xiaoguang, Li Qinglong, Yang Liwei (mission pilot), Pan Zhanchun, Zhai Zhigang, Jing Haipeng, & Deng Qingming.
Two notarized certificates of authenticity accompany the set, attesting to both flight status and signature authenticity. Only 12 sets were produced by CMSE, making this one of the scarcest signed flown postal artifacts from the early era of Chinese spaceflight. Notably, these covers were not distributed publicly in China but were offered briefly to select Western collectors in 2004 via a single intermediary. Virtually all known sets reside in private hands or institutional archives, and examples are rarely seen at auction. Both covers are in pristine, as-issued condition, with bold ink signatures, intact embossing, and crisp postal markings.
Shenzhou 5 marked China's formal entry into the cadre of nations capable of independent human spaceflight. The mission made Yang Liwei a national hero and opened a new chapter in human space exploration. This set represents a museum-grade relic of that achievement and is arguably the most complete flown postal documentation of the event in private hands. From the Family Collection of Jacques Bracke.
Auction Info
2025 June 13 - 14 Space Exploration Featuring The Family Collection of Jacques Bracke Part II Signature® Auction #6317 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
June, 2025
13th-14th
Friday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 8
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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