| Date | Postmark | Event | Comments |
| 28 Jan 1986 | Cape Canaveral | Flotilla of 28 Ships - Challenger Operations Begin | Canaveral Port Authority Corner Card |
| 5 Feb 1986 | Cape Canaveral | First Recovery Phase - USCGC Dallas Retrieves 12 tons of debris | Printed Cachet - Green |
| 12 Feb 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Opportune - Lead Recovery Ship - Joint Search by 28 Recovery Ships | Printed Cachet - Blue & Unusual USS Opportune Lead Recovery Ship Cachet |
| 2 Mar 1986 | Cape Canaveral | Left Booster Found | Space Voyager Cover |
| 6 Mar 1986 | Jacksonville | Recover Challenger FLT 51L Debris | Commanding Officer USS Preserver Corner Card |
| 12 Mar 1986 | Kennedy Space Center | Cabin Crew & Astronaut Remains Returned to Port by USS Preserver | Space Voyager Cover |
| 10 / 12 Mar 1986 | Kennedy Space Center | USS Preserver finds Challenger's compartment and Astronaut Remains | Commanding Officer USS Preserver Corner Card - 2 postmarks |
| 20 Mar 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Preserver Lead Recovery Vessel Recovery Operations Ended | Printed cachet - Blue |
| 28 Mar 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Koelsch - 2.5 ton piece of Challenger SRB recovered | Commanding Officer Corner Card |
| 13 Apr 1986 | Kennedy Space Center | Key Section of Right Booster Found | Space Voyager Cover |
| 15 Apr 1986 | Cape Canaveral | Stena Workhorse Brings Right Booster to Port | Space Voyager Cover |
| 18 Apr 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Opportune Lead Recovery Ship - Crew Compartment Recovery Operations Ended | Printed cachet - Black |
| 27 May 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Opportune Lead Recovery Ship - Spartan-Halley Payload Recovery Operations Ended | Printed Cachet - Purple |
| 30 May 1986 | Cape Canaveral | SRB Retrieval Ship Independence - External Tank Recovery | Printed Cachet - Blue |
| 28 Aug 1986 | Cape Canaveral | USS Opportune Lead Recovery Ship - TDRS Payload Recovery Operations Ended | Printed Cachet - Green & Unusual USS Opportune Lead Recovery Ship Cachet |
| 28 Aug 1986 | Kennedy Space Center | Sarzin Cover - Ocean Search for Challenger Debris Ends | Printed Cachet & S/H Photo |
| Ship | Postmark | Date | Comments |
| UTC Freedom Star | Kennedy Space Center | 28 Jan 1986 | Boudwin Cover - With submersible 'Scorpia' - Souvenir Cover Only |
| UTC Freedom Star | Kennedy Space Center | 3 Mar 1986 | Boudwin Cover - Resumes Search - Souvenir Cover Only |
| UTC Liberty Star | Kennedy Space Center | 28 Jan 1986 | Boudwin Cover - With submersible 'Sprint' - Souvenir Cover Only |
| UTC Liberty Star | Kennedy Space Center | 3 Mar 1986 | Boudwin Cover - With Submersible 'Orion' Aboard - Souvenir Cover Only |
| UTC Independence | Kennedy Space Center | 28 Jan 1986 | Boudwin Cover - With submersible 'Recon IV' - Souvenir Cover Only |
| UTC Independence | Kennedy Space Center | 3 Mar 1986 | Boudwin Cover - With Submersible 'Deep Drone' Aboard - Souvenir Cover Only |
| USNS Range Sentinel | Orlando Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center |
27 Jan 1986 28 Jan 1986 28 Jan 1986 |
Master USNS Range Sentinel Corner Card & Ship's Cachet |
| USNS Redstone | Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center Mobile AL |
28 Jan 1986 28 Jan 1986 28 Jan 1986 |
Blue ship's cachet Master USNS Redstone Corner Card & Ship's Cachet - KSC Cover includes KSC Philatelic Society Cachet |
| USS Sampson | USS Sampson | 3 Feb 1986 | Ship's Cachet |
| USS Koelsch | USS Koelsch | 3 Mar 1986 5 Mar 1986 |
Ship's Cachet plus Commanding Officer Corner Card |
| USS Koelsch | Cape Canaveral | 28 Mar 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card - 2.5 ton piece of Challenger SRB recovered |
| USS Semmes | USS Semmes | 4 Feb 1986 | Ship's Cachet |
| USS Underwood | USS Underwood + Jacksonville USS Underwood |
Ship's Cachet | |
| USS Guam | USS Guam & New Orleans USS Guam |
8 & 10 Feb 1986 26 Mar 19864 |
Ship's Cachet |
| USS Simpson | USS Simpson | 11 Feb 1986 22 Mar 19861c |
Ship's Cachet Corner Card plus text cachet |
| USS Aubrey Fitch1 | USS Aubrey Fitch | 11 Feb 1986 | Ship's Cachet |
| USS Aubrey Fitch | USS Aubrey Fitch & Jacksonville | 12 & 14 Feb 1986 | Ship's Cachet |
| USCGC Sweetgum | Jacksonville Jackonville Hampton Roads Cape Canaveral (red cachet) Cape Canaveral (black cachet) |
18 Feb 1986 18 Feb 1986 - postmark variation 2 Apr 1986 12 Apr 1986 12 April 1986 |
Commanding Officer Corner Card & Ship's Cachet |
| USCGC Harriet Lane | Jacksonville | 19 Feb 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card & Ship's Cachet |
| USCGC Dallas | Cape Canaveral | 31 Jan 1986 - 4 Feb 1986 |
Carried on board the ship and signed - two postmarks |
| USCGC Dallas | New York | 19 Feb 1986 6 Mar 19861a 19 Mar 1986 |
Ship's Cachet - Signed by ship's Commander |
| USCGC Point Roberts | Detroit4 Jacksonville Jacksonville |
3 Feb 1986 10 Feb 1986 19 Feb 1986 2 Apr 1986 |
Commanding Officer Corner Card |
| USS Preserver | Orlando Jacksonville Orlando |
24 Feb 1986 6 Mar 19862 19 Mar 1986 31 Mar 1986 |
Commanding Officer Corner Card |
| USS Preserver | Kennedy Space Center | 10 & 12 Mar 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card - Challenger's Compartment and Astronaut Remains Found |
| USCGC Bear | US Navy FPO 84051 | 27 Feb 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card & Ship's Cachet |
| USS Sunbird | Orlando | 5 Mar 1986 31 Mar 19864 16 Apr 19864 |
Ship's cachet |
| USCGC Tampa | Hampton Roads | 12 Mar 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card & Ship's Cachet |
|
NR-1ii (See article2) |
Groton CT Submarine Base | 6 Mar 19861b 10 Mar 1986 12 Mar 19862 26 Mar 1986 17 Apr 1986 22 Apr 1986 |
Cover marked 5 Mar 1986 - Very Rare Cover marked 7 Mar 1986 - Very Rare Cover marked 10 Mar 1986 - Very Rare Cover marked 25 Mar 1986 - Very Rare Cover marked 17 April - Very Rare No extra markings - Very Rare |
| USS W. S. Sims | USS W. S. Sims | 26 Mar 1986 | Ship's cachet (rare - only two seen) |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i | Kennedy Space Center | 20 Mar 1986 | Dive # 1279 - Detailed Info Cachet - Marked 11 Mar 1986 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i,4 | Patrick AFB | 2 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1292 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 28 Mar 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i | Patrick AFB | 2 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1293 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 28 Mar 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i,4 | Kennedy Space Center | 14 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1308 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 11 Apr 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i,4 | Kennedy Space Center | 14 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1310 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 13 Apr 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i,4 | Kennedy Space Center | 14 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1311 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 13 Apr 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 2i,1 | Kennedy Space Center | 8 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1312 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 2 Cachet - Dive 15 Apr 86 - Ship's cachet on back - Rare Cover |
| Johnson Sea-Link 1i,4 | Cape Canaveral | 22 Apr 1986 | Dive # 1744 - Detailed Info Cachet & small Johnson Sea-Link 1 Cachet on back- Dive 18 Apr 86 - Extremely Rare Cover |
| USCGC Dauntless | Miami | 20 Apr 1986 | Commanding Officer Corner Card |
| R/V G.W. Pierce | Fort Lauderdale | 21 Apr 1986 | Ship's Corner Card |
| USS Kittiwake | USS Dahlgren | 2? Apr 1986 | Ship's cachet plus 'Welcome Home from Challenger Debris Retrieve Mission' cachet Only 3 seen - probably Rare |
| MSV Stena Workhorse (See article2) | Orlando | 23 Apr 1986 | Ship's Cachet - Master's Signature on Back |
| USS Opportune4 | Orlando | 1 May 1986 6 May 1986 |
Ship's Cachet |
| USCGC Cherokee4 | Hampton Roads | 7 May 1986iii | Ship's Corner Card plus 'Coast Guard Cutter' Embossed Seal |
| R/V Paul Langevin III | Fort Lauderdale | 18 Aug 1986 | Ship's Corner Card |
| R/V Paul Langevin III4 | For Lauderdale | 22 Aug 1986 | Marked 2-11-86 to 8-15-86 |
| Involvement Unknown | |||
| USCGC Point Charles | U/K | 24 Feb4, 25 March, 10 April, 22 April | Covers shows ship's emblem and corner card |
| Not Involved | |||
| USNS Observation Island4 | Seattle | 4 Feb 1986 | Ship's Corner Card and Cachet |
| Date | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 1986 |
KSC - Sarzin Cachet? - Shows diagram of Right SRB |
Black | Printed |
| 15 Apr 1986 |
KSC - Boudwin Cachet - Found parts of Critical Right SRB |
Pple & Green | Rubber Stamp |
Notes General:
i) Many other dates and dive numbers are known
ii ) Other Dates are known
iii ) Date on the postmark is sometimes poor and may appear to be a 1 rather than a 7. Also it sometimes appears to be two digits.
iv ) My personal website lists other reported dates for covers which I have not seen.
Notes Other:
1) Sold on eBay during 2011 a) 2013 b) 2017 c) 2022
2) From the collection of Anthony O'Brien
4) From the collection of Tom Steiner
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 21 May 2023
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