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1988 Space Shuttle Flight Readiness Firing, 3 cancel types & embroidered patch Circle date stamp in red Hand cancel duplex cancel Pictorial machine cancel Includes vintage embroidered patch The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982. Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seventy-three seconds after its 11:37 a.m. liftoff on September 29, 1988, those watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five-man crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Discovery had passed the point in its mission at which, on January 28, 1986, thirty-two months earlier, Challenger had exploded, killing its seven-person crew and bringing the U.S. civilian space program to an abrupt halt. After almost three years without a launch of the Space Shuttle, the United States had returned to flight. On 4 August 1988, Discovery aimed to perform the first FRF (Flight Readiness Firing) of the shuttle era on Pad 39B, but the attempt was postponed when a sluggish SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) valve aborted the test at T-6.6 seconds; this caused some consternation on the part of the PAO, for the hydrogen burn igniters had already kicked into action, but no Main Engine Start took place. After repairs, the FRF was successfully conducted on August 10, 1988, with the shuttle’s engines running perfectly at full power for 20 seconds. American Philatelic Society dealer member American Numismatic Association life member Note: Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

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