# 2544A - 1995 $10.75 Endeavor's Liftoff, Express Mail
US #2544A
1995 Endeavour Space Shuttle
- Express Mail
- One of two semi-jumbo stamps picturing space shuttles
Category of Stamp: Definitive
Value: $10.75
First Day of Issue: August 4, 1995
First Day City: Irvine, California
Quantity Issued: 50,000,000
Printed by: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Engraved and Lithographed
Format: Panes of 20
Perforations: 11
Reason the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued because of an increase in rate for Express Mail. Express Mail is used for overnight delivery.
About the stamp design: Photographs from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were used as the basis for this stamp. It shows the space shuttle Endeavour as its lifting off the launching pad.
Special design details: Though this stamp was intended for use on Express Mail, that term is not on the stamp so it could be used for general postage as well.
About the printing process: The Endeavour stamp was printed in special paper containing small fibers as a security measure. Red fibers can be seen on the gum side of the stamp, but an ultraviolet light is needed to see the blue and green fibers.
Though most of the stamp was printed using lithography, the red parts (fuel tank and lower clouds) were engraved.
The phrase “Endeavour STS-57” is microprinted below the frame line on the lower right.
Unusual thing about this stamp: This was the first Express Mail stamp to be issued in semi-jumbo size. All previous stamps were larger.
2nd Unusual thing about this stamp: This stamp, along with the Priority Mail stamp in the same set, were originally going to have elliptical perforations on the stamp to prevent reuse. Because Ashton-Potter didn’t have the needed equipment, this feature wasn’t added.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during the American First Day Cover Society Exhibition in Irvine, California. Janice Voss, an astronaut who flew on STS-57, was the featured speaker.
History the stamp represents: This design is based on a photograph of the Space Shuttle Endeavor's liftoff for the STS-57 mission. STS-57 marked the beginning of a new era in the commercial development of space, as the shuttle carried a privately developed experimentation module called SPACEHAB.
US #2544A
1995 Endeavour Space Shuttle
- Express Mail
- One of two semi-jumbo stamps picturing space shuttles
Category of Stamp: Definitive
Value: $10.75
First Day of Issue: August 4, 1995
First Day City: Irvine, California
Quantity Issued: 50,000,000
Printed by: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Engraved and Lithographed
Format: Panes of 20
Perforations: 11
Reason the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued because of an increase in rate for Express Mail. Express Mail is used for overnight delivery.
About the stamp design: Photographs from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were used as the basis for this stamp. It shows the space shuttle Endeavour as its lifting off the launching pad.
Special design details: Though this stamp was intended for use on Express Mail, that term is not on the stamp so it could be used for general postage as well.
About the printing process: The Endeavour stamp was printed in special paper containing small fibers as a security measure. Red fibers can be seen on the gum side of the stamp, but an ultraviolet light is needed to see the blue and green fibers.
Though most of the stamp was printed using lithography, the red parts (fuel tank and lower clouds) were engraved.
The phrase “Endeavour STS-57” is microprinted below the frame line on the lower right.
Unusual thing about this stamp: This was the first Express Mail stamp to be issued in semi-jumbo size. All previous stamps were larger.
2nd Unusual thing about this stamp: This stamp, along with the Priority Mail stamp in the same set, were originally going to have elliptical perforations on the stamp to prevent reuse. Because Ashton-Potter didn’t have the needed equipment, this feature wasn’t added.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during the American First Day Cover Society Exhibition in Irvine, California. Janice Voss, an astronaut who flew on STS-57, was the featured speaker.
History the stamp represents: This design is based on a photograph of the Space Shuttle Endeavor's liftoff for the STS-57 mission. STS-57 marked the beginning of a new era in the commercial development of space, as the shuttle carried a privately developed experimentation module called SPACEHAB.