Year of Issue: 1988 (September 24, 1988) Stamp Description: Features an affixed 15-cent Project Mercury commemorative stamp (Scott 1759). Originally issued in 1979, this stamp depicts the historical Friendship 7 space capsule orbiting Earth against a deep blue space backdrop.
Cancellation Detail: Features a specialized pictorial exhibition station cancel from CEMPEX STATION / LANSING, MI 48924, dated SEP 24 1988. The cancel graphic incorporates a sleek line drawing of a stylized rocket or space vehicle blasting upward into the stars.
Cachet Type: Printed space-themed event cachet on the left side of the envelope. Cachet Artwork Details: The cachet bridges decades of space exploration with an artistic timeline:
Background: A portrait of astronaut John Glenn in full Mercury spacesuit gear, paired with an illustration of the capsule launch.
Foreground: A depiction of the Space Shuttle orbiter and a planetary landing module, showing how the foundations built during Project Mercury enabled deep space exploration.
Text: Distinctively commemorates the "25th Anniversary of Project Mercury - America's First Steps to the Moon." Addressee: Unaddressed (highly preferred collector format).
The 1988 Timing: Project Mercury officially ran from 1958 to 1963. This cover specifically notes the silver anniversary of the program's culmination (which wrapped up with Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit flight in May 1963).
The Post-Challenger Space Era: Like the 1987 space cover we previously reviewed, this 1988 commemorative item was produced during NASA's recovery period following the 1986 Challenger tragedy. Philatelic event covers from this two-and-a-half-year gap heavily leaned into the golden era of Mercury and Apollo programs to rebuild a sense of optimism just as the Shuttle program was preparing to return to flight in late September 1988.
CEMPEX in Lansing: CEMPEX is the annual regional stamp show hosted by the Central Michigan Philatelic Society in Lansing, Michigan. The local postal station provided these unique commemorative cancels exclusively for attendees over the exhibition weekend.