Spaceflight Now: Breaking News

Space shuttle joins American icons in stamp collection
NASA NEWS RELEASE
Posted: Jan. 13, 2000

  Stamp
The space shuttle stamp on display at Kennedy Space Center. Photo: NASA
 
The Space Shuttle Program Wednesday joined video games, the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and 12 other American memories as part of the U.S. Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" program; the 15-stamp series was unveiled Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL.

The stamps, which were available at post offices across the country starting Wednesday, were selected by the public during nationwide balloting in February 1999. The stamps highlight significant events of the 1980s.

The text on the gummed side of the Space Shuttle stamp reads, "Space Shuttles have transformed U.S. space exploration. These reusable crafts can launch satellites and house labs for scientific experiments. Columbia, the first Space Shuttle, was launched April 12, 1981."

"I wanted to thank the Postal Service for taking the vote. I'm pleased the people have voted the Space Shuttle one of the significant achievements of the 1980s," said Kennedy Center Director Roy D. Bridges, Jr.

"We are delighted that the American public chose the Space Shuttle Program stamp and 14 others to represent the 1980s," said Viki Brennan, Central Florida District Manager, Customer Service and Sales, who dedicated the stamps for the Postal Service.

Other events and icons that warranted this commemoration are the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the film "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial", the return of U.S. hostages from Iran, the TV comedy "The Cosby Show", the Broadway musical "Cats", hip-hop culture, figure skating, the San Francisco 49ers football team, personal computers, compact discs and cable TV.

Wednesday's First Day of Issue Ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex included Bridges, Brennan, veteran Space Shuttle astronaut Rick Linnehan, U.S. Representative Dave Weldon, and Rick Abramson, president and chief operating officer of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

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