International Day of Human Space Flight

 

 

Yuri Gagarin, the world's first cosmonaut to have travelled in outer space

The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year. The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.

April 12, 1961, was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin. This historic event opened the way for space exploration. In 2011 the UN declared April 12 as the “International Day of Human Space Flight” to remember the first human space flight and to promote the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes and to the benefit of humankind.

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From the Readers…

Error Variety on 2012 India - Israel Joint Issue Stamp

While going through the recent stamps, I noticed an error in the Diwali stamp of 2012 - India Joint Issue with Israel stamp issue.

I name it as 'Ring of Fire' variety - a small ring in yellow color above the letter 'A' in 'INDIA' .This stamp is from the full sheet, which means, it is not from the sheetlet.

I am not sure whether this is a constant error (i.e. similar stamp can be found in each sheet at the same position of this stamp in row and column). so, stamp collectors can check and see if they find any similar stamp in their collection.

- Kasinath R. - Tanjore

 

New pictorial cancellation from Germany

On May 8th a new pictorial cancellation (FDI-postmark) will be issued at 53113 BONN. The cancellation is featuring the head of a White-tailed Sea Eagle(Haliaeetus albicillia). Interested philatelists may please contact: Wolfgang Beyer, Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE. Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de. Postage rates:
2,90 Euro Registered AIRMAIL( Registered mail possible only).

Courtesy: Mr.Wolfgang Hölzl from the IG New Guinea(www.i-ng.org.)

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World Heritage sites..

 

Date of Issue : 22 August 2013

The Old Town of Lijiang

Hong Kong Post has issued stamp sheetlets in the World Heritage in China Series since 2012 to showcase some of the many natural and cultural gems .

The Old Town of Lijiang, also known as Dayan Town, is located in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province. Established in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty (late 13th century), Lijiang is a famous ancient town set in an idyllic landscape, embracing the picturesque scenery of both a mountain city and a waterside village. The historic town is an important cultural treasure trove for the study of Chinese architecture.

Covering a vast territory, China is rich in natural and cultural heritage. To date, more than 40 sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Old Town of Lijiang is featured in Stamp Sheetlet No. 2 of the World Heritage in China Series. Lijiang, also known as Dayan Town, is located in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province. It occupies an area of 3.8 square kilometres on Yungui Plateau, which is more than 2400 metres above sea level. First built in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty (late 13th century), Lijiang is a famous ancient town set in an idyllic landscape, embracing the picturesque scenery of a mountain city and a waterside village. Characterized by a harmonious fusion of different architectural styles of the Han, Bai, Yi, Zang and Naxi nationalities, the historical town is an important cultural treasure trove for the study of Chinese architecture.

In this stamp sheetlet, the soaring Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is used as the backdrop. The cloud-wreathed and snow-capped mountain is the southernmost snow mountain in the Northern Hemisphere. Its main summit reaches an altitude of 5596 metres, offering a spectacular and ever-changing view. On the lower left of the stamp sheetlet is Mu’s Mansion. Situated in the southwest corner of the old town, Mu’s Mansion was originally built in the Yuan Dynasty as the office of a hereditary prefect surnamed Mu in Lijiang. It not only bears witness to the history of Lijiang, but also embodies the civilisation of the ancient city. Featured on the stamp is Wanjuan Pavilion of Mu’s Mansion. With a collection of well over a thousand volumes of Dongba scripture, Dazangjing (Buddhist sutra) and other scholastic gems, the pavilion houses the essence of a cultural heritage of two thousand years. The 100-Year-Old Bridge is portrayed on the right of the stamp sheetlet. There are many water courses in the old town and bridges of different sizes can be seen everywhere. Being near to mountains and waters, the Old Town of Lijiang blends well with the natural environment. Its scenery is most enchanting.

New Special Cover

India Post, Delhi Postal Circle issued a Special Cover on 14th June 2013 on the occasion of 50th Anniversary of the Space Mission by Valentina Treshkova.

Valentina Treshkova from Russia is the first woman cosmonaut of the world who went to outer space on 16th June 1963.  This celestial feat has been a source of inspiration for all women in the world ever since.  The year 2013 is being celebrated as the Golden Jubilee year of her maiden Flight to outer space. 

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

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New stamps from UNPA…

 

Date of Issue : 9 August 2013

 

UNPA  issued   stamps and souvenir sheets  to commemorate World Space Week. World Space Week is an annual event, declared by the UN General Assembly and is observed during the week of 4-10 October.

World Space Week is the largest annual space event in the world. Some of its goals are to educate people about the benefits that they receive from space, encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic development, excite young people about science to inspire the workforce of tomorrow, and to foster international cooperation about space outreach and education.

Today, the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs in Vienna provides the overall global coordination of World Space Week, under the guidance of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and with the support of World Space Week Association, a non-government organization.

This year's United Nations "Space" stamps feature images of Nebulae. A nebula is a gigantic interstellar cloud of dust particles and gases in space. It is made up of mainly hydrogen and helium gases. The term nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud. Nebulae come in many different shapes and sizes and can be light years across (trillions of miles). Some nebulas are regions where new stars are being formed, while others are the remains of dead or dying stars.

World Humanitarian Day

 

On 19 August 2013, UNPA will issue a special personalized stamp sheet to commemorate World Humanitarian Day. The sheet is composed of ten stamps in the denomination of US$ 1.10.

World Humanitarian Day is a time to recognize those who face danger and adversity in order to help others. The day was designated by the General Assembly to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.

19 August, 2013 marks 10 years since that tragic event, which claimed 22 lives. This year, the international community will pause to remember those who died, as well as the dozens of aid workers, who have died in the years since.

But World Humanitarian Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian work around the globe.This year the UN and its humanitarian partners are launching a ground-breaking campaign called “The world needs more…” This is a first-of-its-kind project that will quite literally turn words into aid.

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New stamps from Poland..

 

Date of Issue : 3 August 2013

Here are some new stamps issued by Poczta Polska. A new Souvenir sheet was issued on 3rd August 2013 to commemorate “Rally of Great Sailing Ships Szczecin 2013 ”.This is a nice item for Ship theme collectors.

Rally of Great Sailing Ships Szczecin 2013

 

Woodstock Festival

Love, Friendship and Music

Date of Issue : 1 August 2013

Przystanek Woodstock is the biggest open-air festival in Europe–an annual free rock music festival in Poland, inspired by and named for the Woodstock Festival, that has taken place since 1995. The festival’s motto is “Love, Friendship, and Music”. It is organized by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity foundation as a way of thanking its volunteers. Generally a weekend-long event, its two stages are in continuous use from early afternoon to dawn, featuring performances by around 30 bands every year. Along with the concerts on two stages there are many other events organized during the festival – like the Academy Of The Finest Arts which is a place where young people meet with well-known politicians, artists, journalists, musicians, actors and religious leaders.

The second Polish Satellite

Date of Issue : 31 July 2013

Poczta Polska issued a souvenir sheet  featuring the second Polish satellite.The second Polish scientific satellite – BRITE-PL Heweliusz – is currently undergoing assembly. The satellite will be probable launched before the end of 2014. BRITE-PL is the name of a Polish scientific satellite project which consists of two satellites: BRITE-PL Lem and BRITE-PL Heweliusz. The two are part of a bigger scientific BRITE (BRIght-star Target Explorer) consortium. The BRITE-PL Lem satellite is already assembled and fully tested. Before the end of this year the BRITE-PL Lem should be launched into orbit onboard a Dnepr rocket.

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50 Years of Woman’s First Flight to Space

 

Russian post issued a stamp to commemorate 50^th anniversary of woman’s first flight to space.After the first successful flight of Soviet cosmonaut, the Soviet Union decided to send a woman astronaut into space. Initially the simultaneous flight of two women’s crews was planned, but later this plan was abandoned in favour of the selection of one astronaut among five candidates. Valentina Tereshkova was selected astronaut number 1 among Soviet women.

The world’s first woman astronaut went into space flight in June 16, 1963 on the “Vostok-6″ spaceship from the “Baikonur” cosmodrome. Despite the physical discomfort Tereshkova endured 48 orbits around the Earth and spent almost three days in space, where she was keeping a logbook and making photographs of the horizon, which were later used for the detection of aerosol layers in the atmosphere.

_{Club News}

A Stamp Expo-2013 will be held on “Gandhi and Tagore” on 9^th & 10^th July from 11:00 hrs. to 18:00 hrs. at Rabindra  Bhawan, Birchand Patel Path, Patna – 800001 .

    During the exhibition a letter writing and Stamp designing competition will be organized. All are requested to attend the exhibition.   The exhibits may be submitted by 08^th July 2013 Positively at Philately Bureau Patna GPO.

: Pradip Jain – Patna

Special Covers

Two special covers were released in Kolkata in Jan – Feb 2013.

Automated Mail Processing Centre, Kolkata

27 January 2013 – Kolkata

Indian Dental Conference

22 February 2013 – Kolkata

: Ankit Agarwal : email : 3dankit@gmail.com

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50th Anniversary of the Woman’s First Flight to Space

 

 

Date of Issue : 16 June 2013

Azermarka paid tribute to cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova by issuing this souvenir sheet .   50 years ago, she became the first woman to go into orbit on board the Vostok 6 spacecraft.

“Hey, heavens, take off your hat!” Tereshkova said before taking off, as if she were asking the universe to pay respects to the first woman to dare to challenge it.

On June 16 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly into space .

Tereshkova’s space journey lasted almost three days during which her spacecraft circled the Earth 49 times.

The flight, however, was not an easy one right from the start, with Tereshkova beginning to feel sick due to accumulated fatigue and being unable to orient the space capsule along its transverse axis, Nickolai Kamanin, one of the organizers of the flight, recalled in his diary.

The stamp features a portrait of Valentina Tereshkova having the Earth on her background. The sheet features launching of Vostok 6 spacecraft.

Azermarka is the Azerbaijani state company responsible for the production and sale of Azerbaijani postage stamps

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New special Cover from Uttarakhand…

Governor of Uttarakhand H.E. Aziz Qureshi released special cover on Abbas Tayyabji on 8-6-13 at Raj Bhawan, Dehradun on his 77th Death Anniversary . Abbas Tayyabji was second in command during the famous Dandi March and is also popularly known as "Chhota Gandhi". The cover was designed by Abhai Mishra while the cancellation was designed by Rajesh Varma.

: Abhai Mishra – Dehradun - email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

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