Rick Hauck–Signed STS-7 Grumman Aerospace "Shuttle Wing" Cover, 1983

Commemorative airmail cover for STS-7, the June 1983 Space Shuttle Challenger mission best remembered as the flight that carried Sally Ride into orbit as the first American woman in space. The face is postmarked Bethpage, N.Y. — June 22, 1983 — mid-mission, while Challenger was still in orbit — franked with a 20¢ Ralph Bunche definitive, and struck with the red cachet of Grumman Aerospace Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., proclaiming the firm "BUILDER OF THE SHUTTLE WING." Grumman engineered and fabricated the orbiter's wing structure at its Long Island plant, and covers like this were produced at the Bethpage facility to mark the company's role in the program.

Signed boldly across the center in black ink by Commander Rick Hauck, who led the five-person STS-7 crew aboard Challenger. The Bethpage USPO cancel and Grumman cachet tie the piece directly to the Long Island aerospace works that supplied Shuttle hardware; the mid-mission postmark places the signing event at the manufacturing facility during the flight itself — a company-side celebration of the mission in real time. A Certificate of Authenticity from NM Estate Auctions / Mesilla Valley Estate Sales accompanies the lot.

STS-7 launched June 18, 1983 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger and landed June 24, making it the ninth Space Shuttle mission and the first to carry an American woman. Commander Frederick "Rick" Hauck — a Navy test pilot and future NASA Associate Administrator — led a crew of five that deployed two communications satellites and conducted the first retrieval and redeployment of a free-flying satellite by the robotic arm. Grumman Aerospace Corporation, headquartered at Bethpage, Long Island, fabricated the orbiter's wing structure and produced commemorative covers at its plant to mark each Shuttle mission it supported. The June 22 postmark — two days before landing — places this cover squarely in the window of a Grumman facility event celebrating the mission in progress.

• Signed by Commander Rick Hauck, STS-7 Mission Commander
• Postmarked Bethpage, N.Y. USPO — June 22, 1983 (mid-mission)
• Certificate of Authenticity issued by NM Estate Auctions / Mesilla Valley Estate Sales

CONDITION

Very Good. Paper is bright and clean; cachet and cancel are crisp; signature is bold and fully legible. Light handling only — no tears, stains, or creasing to the face. Reverse is clean aside from faint stray ink marks.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Size: 3 5/8" × 6 1/2"
• Postmark: Bethpage, N.Y. USPO — June 22, 1983
• Franking: 20¢ Ralph Bunche definitive
• Cachet: Grumman Aerospace Corp., Bethpage, N.Y. — "Builder of the Shuttle Wing"
• Signed in black ink by Commander Rick Hauck, STS-7
• COA: NM Estate Auctions / Mesilla Valley Estate Sales