Our First Outpost in the Final Frontier

I was privileged to hear former astronaut John Glenn speak this week. The retired Senator from Ohio told the gripping story of his first voyage into space. Crammed into a 7-foot wide capsule perched atop a 100-foot-tall Atlas rocket loaded with 250,000 pounds of explosive fuel, Glenn was thrust 160 miles into space on February 20, 1962 to become the first American to orbit the Earth.

"It seems as though the whole flight was maybe a week ago," said the 85-year-old Glenn about his voyage on Friendship 7, which was named by his children. Friendship 7 was the first spaceship with a window and Glenn recalled his feelings when Earth filled his tiny window for the first time. He recounted his awe at watching the sun and moon rise and set in quick succession as he circled the planet. He compared that cramped, lonely voyage with the comparative luxury of travelling aboard the shuttle Discovery with 6 other astronauts in 1998 at the age of 77.

A strong advocate for the completion of the international space station, Glenn said, "It's only about two-thirds complete, and we've never been able to do much research on it because we only have two people up there. They've been spending most of their time tending the systems on the station. Once we get the thing all built out, then we'll have a six-person crew up there, and about four people will be doing nothing but basic fundamental research of the most unusual kind we've ever been able to do."

The thrill and majesty of the international space station are captured on this souvenir sheet issued in 2006 by St. Vincent/Bequia. The single-value stamp features a stunning picture of the station suspended in space. Click the post title to order. County Stamp Center offers several striking stamps commemorating the International Space Station. Visit our website and enter "space station" in our unique Quick Search feature. At County Stamp Center we try to make it easy for you to find just what you're looking for. With our search feature you can find stamps by key word, category or Scott's catalog number. Visit County Stamp Center for all your philatelic needs.