Ron Grabe Signed 1981 Space Shuttle First Day Cover — Albuquerque NM Postmark View Watchlist >
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Lot # Nasa110Z
System ID # 29525181
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Ron Grabe Signed 1981 Space Shuttle First Day Cover — Albuquerque NM Postmark
By October 1981, the Space Shuttle program was three missions deep and the country was still catching its breath. Ron Grabe was at that moment an Air Force test pilot at Edwards — not yet an astronaut, but already deep in the pipeline. He would go on to fly four shuttle missions across ten years, logging nearly 700 hours in orbit aboard Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour. He was the kind of pilot NASA trusted with classified Department of Defense payloads on STS-51-J and with recovering the malfunctioning Magellan spacecraft trajectory on STS-30. Cool under pressure, minimal ego, maximum capability — exactly the profile that got you four flights.
This cover caught him early. The Barlen cachet (©1981) features the orbiter Enterprise in deep blue space beside the bold red legend "Space Shuttle — United States of America," franked with the USA 18¢ "Benefiting Mankind" space achievement stamp. The pictorial cancellation — "Albuquerque, N.M. — Oct 16, 1981 — New Mexico & the Space Shuttle" — was part of a commemorative postal event linking the state to the program it helped train pilots for at Holloman and White Sands. Grabe's signature runs large and confident across the lower half in bold black ink. A Certificate of Authenticity will be issued by Mesilla Valley Estate Sales.
History
Ronald John Grabe flew the shuttle the way test pilots fly everything — methodically, precisely, without drama. A West Point graduate who earned his astronaut wings through the Air Force flight test pipeline at Edwards, Grabe was selected by NASA in 1980 and flew his first mission just five years later on STS-51-J, a classified Department of Defense flight aboard Atlantis. He followed that with STS-30 (Atlantis, 1989), STS-42 (Discovery, 1992, the first International Microgravity Laboratory mission), and STS-57 (Endeavour, 1993), during which the crew retrieved the EURECA satellite. Four flights, four orbiters, nearly a decade of active mission service. After NASA, he moved into aerospace industry leadership. His signature on a 1981 cover — placed before his first flight — captures the exact moment a career like his was still a promise, not yet a record.
Provenance
Certificate of Authenticity to be issued by Mesilla Valley Estate Sales, Las Cruces, New Mexico.
CONDITION
Very Good. Cachet color is crisp and the signature is bold and fully legible. Minor faint ink show-through and a small scatter of ink specks to the reverse; envelope flap intact and unsealed.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Size: 3 5/8" × 6 1/2"
- Stamp: USA 18¢ "Benefiting Mankind"
- Cancel: Albuquerque, N.M., Oct 16, 1981 — "New Mexico & the Space Shuttle" pictorial
- Cachet: Barlen, ©1981
- Signed: Ron Grabe (bold black ink)
- Authentication: COA issued by Mesilla Valley Estate Sales
