The Space Race on stamps
The 1955-1975 ‘Space Race’ between the USA and Soviet Union during the Cold War introduced beneficial technological advances in telecommunications, computer science, solar power and engineering. It also initiated a major postage stamp theme, much loved by philatelists globally.
The most important ‘Space Race’ postage stamps from this era have to be Ascension Island’s 15 February 1971 ‘Evolution of Space Travel’ definitive issue. So why did a tiny volcanic island spanning just 88 square kilometres, beneath the equator in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, select this subject for its stamps? Was Ascension’s postal authority cynically attempting to extract money from the stamp collecting community, or is there something more culturally significant at work? One hopes the philatelic community better appreciates their importance following this brief survey on the issue’s development.
Constructed by the United States during the Second World War (1939-1945), Ascension’s ‘Wideawake’ Airfield quickly became an important stopping point for US military aircraft crossing the Atlantic to engage in conflicts throughout Europe and Africa. Disused soon after, the Americans returned once more in 1956 during the opening phases of the Space Race. The airfield’s expansion to support large aircraft in the 1960s underlined its selection as an emergency landing site for NASA’s Space Shuttle Programme. Various commemorative postage stamp issues also chronicle Ascension Island’s growing strategic importance. The 7 November 1966, ‘Opening of the Apollo Communications Satellite
