# C76 - 1969 10c Moon Landing
1969 10 ¢ Moon Landing
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and Engraved (Giori) printing
Color: Multicolored
U.S. Lands First Men On The Moon
The space race began 12 years earlier, on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union used rocket technology developed by the Germans in World War II to launch Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. Originally, Sputnik was intended to be a massive, thousand-pound satellite. However, because the Americans were attempting to launch their own satellite, the decision was made to scale back the design considerably. At the time of launch, Sputnik was no bigger than a basketball.
After the landing was completed, the crew began preparations for the Moonwalk. They had originally planned a five-hour sleep period, but it was decided they would be too excited to sleep.
Then, at 10:56 p.m. EDT, Armstrong set his left foot down upon the surface of the Moon and called it, “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and described the scene as “magnificent desolation.” Back on Earth, the world watched through a live television feed.
After their rest, Armstrong and Aldrin blasted off from the Moon’s surface – unfortunately toppling the American flag they had planted. In future lunar landings, the flag was placed no closer than 100 feet from the modules, so as not to repeat that mistake.
The Columbia command module, a 10-foot-long cone, was all that remained of the massive Saturn V rocket that began the journey. The Saturn V was 363 feet long and weighed 6,699,000 pounds (Columbia weighed 13,000 pounds). The journey home lasted three days, and the crew had to make only one correction.
The engraved master dies for US #C76, above, traveled to the Moon with the Apollo 11 crew. An envelope bearing a proof of the stamp was also canceled in the space module. The First Day Cover for that stamp was the most popular ever.
Click here for lots more Moon landing stamps, covers, and coins.
Click here to view NASA’s website for the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing.
1969 10 ¢ Moon Landing
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and Engraved (Giori) printing
Color: Multicolored
U.S. Lands First Men On The Moon
The space race began 12 years earlier, on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union used rocket technology developed by the Germans in World War II to launch Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. Originally, Sputnik was intended to be a massive, thousand-pound satellite. However, because the Americans were attempting to launch their own satellite, the decision was made to scale back the design considerably. At the time of launch, Sputnik was no bigger than a basketball.
After the landing was completed, the crew began preparations for the Moonwalk. They had originally planned a five-hour sleep period, but it was decided they would be too excited to sleep.
Then, at 10:56 p.m. EDT, Armstrong set his left foot down upon the surface of the Moon and called it, “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and described the scene as “magnificent desolation.” Back on Earth, the world watched through a live television feed.
After their rest, Armstrong and Aldrin blasted off from the Moon’s surface – unfortunately toppling the American flag they had planted. In future lunar landings, the flag was placed no closer than 100 feet from the modules, so as not to repeat that mistake.
The Columbia command module, a 10-foot-long cone, was all that remained of the massive Saturn V rocket that began the journey. The Saturn V was 363 feet long and weighed 6,699,000 pounds (Columbia weighed 13,000 pounds). The journey home lasted three days, and the crew had to make only one correction.
The engraved master dies for US #C76, above, traveled to the Moon with the Apollo 11 crew. An envelope bearing a proof of the stamp was also canceled in the space module. The First Day Cover for that stamp was the most popular ever.
Click here for lots more Moon landing stamps, covers, and coins.
Click here to view NASA’s website for the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing.