Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Space Science - 16 October 2012 (date change)

The The Space Science stamp issue marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first British satellite Ariel 1.  Previous astronomy issues had looked at the distant galaxies, so in this case it was decided to take a more ‘local’ approach and explore our home solar system.  Royal Mail’s stamp policy team worked closely with the ESA to determine the content of this issue, and the designers selected recent images gathered by ESA space observatories and probes.

Space Science issue takes us on a journey from the very centre of our Solar System to the moons of the ringed planet Saturn, 1.2 billion miles from the Earth The issue has been produced with the assistance of the European Space Agency (ESA) using imagery from ESA missions. British scientists have made significant contributions to ESA missions

Starting at the centre of the Solar system with the Sun photographed from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. We move on to Venus as seen by the Venus Express probe. Followed by a shot of the surface of Mars as taken by the Mars Express probe. Beyond Mars the next encounter is by the probe Rosetta with the asteroid Lutetia. Before moving on to Saturn with the Cassini Huygens probe. The final image is of Saturn’s moon Titan, where the Huygens probe was eventually landed, the first landing by any space craft on Saturn’s moons
.

Set of six stamps showing parts of the solar system.
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The stamps in detail

1st Class – Sun
The image, gathered from ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) midway between the Earth and the Sun, shows particles being ejected from the solar surface.

1st Class – Venus
Shot from ESA’s Venus Express probe, the image shows clouds in the southern hemisphere of the second planet out from Sun.

77p – Mars
Ice within a 35km wide impact crater on the red planet was photographed by ESA’s Mars Express probe.

77p – Lutetia
On route to a meeting with the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko the ESA probe Rosetta had a close encounter with the Lutetia asteroid, located within the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Rosetta came within 500 miles (800km) of the small, diamond-shaped asteroid.

£1.28 – Saturn
Lit up by the Sun behind, the beautiful icy rings of Saturn were photographed by the Cassini probe.

£1.28 – Titan
In 2005 ESA’s Huygens probe parachuted through the atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon to land on Titan’s surface. The image captured here was taken on the way to this historic encounter.


Technical details:

The 40 x 31mm stamps are designed by Osborne Ross Design, and printed in lithography by Cartor Security Print of France, perforated 14½ x 14.  

Products available - we are not stocking these
Set of 6 stamps
First Day Cover
Set of 6 Stamp Cards 
Presentation Pack

Special postmarks available for the day of issue will be shown here (not to scale).

Official first day  postmark illustrated with space exploration craft and sun.
Official first day  postmark planetary system, Star Gaerwen, Gwynedd.
Official non pictorial Star first day postmark.
'One Small Step' Greenwich postmark.
British Astronomical Association, BAA, Piccadilly, London postmark.
Ref FD1242 Official Tallents House, Edinburgh postmark
Ref FD1243 Official Star, Gaerwen, Gwynedd first day postmark
Ref FD1243NP Official Star, Gaerwen Gwynedd First Day Non-pictorial Postmark Ref L12723 "One Small Step..." Blackheath Ave, Greenwich, London SE10
Ref L12724 British Astronomical Association, Piccadilly, London (showing BAA logo)
Postmark showing planets and sace explorer.
Postmark showing  observatory.
Postmark showing  space probe.
Postmark showiing 'Saturn'.

Ref M12726  Space Science, Sunbeam Way Birmingham Ref L12733 Space Science Greenwich SE10
Ref L12734 50th Anniversary of the UK in Space, North Star Avenue, Swindon
Ref N12746 Space Science, Macclesfield, Cheshire


This page updated 19 October 2012


2012 stamp issues
Visit our online shop!
January
5 Olympic & Paralympic Definitives
10 Roald Dahl (author)
20 Year of the Dragon Smilers
February
2 House of Windsor & Saxe-Coburg
6 Diamond Jubilee MS & definitive
23 Britons of Distinction
24 Pictorial Faststamps - Sheep
March
8 Classic Locomotives of Scotland MS
20 World of Comics
April
10 A-Z of the United Kingdom part 2, M-Z
10 RMS Titanic Commemorative Sheet
24 Pictorial Faststamps - Pigs
25 Machin & Country Defins
25 Diamond Jubilee Defins 2
May
1 James Bond Commem sheet
15 Design Classics, Great British Fashion
24 Union Flag Pictorial Faststamp
31 HM The Queen Diamond Jubilee
June
18 Exhibition Generic Sheet
19 Charles Dickens
27 Olympic Games Generic Smiler
27 Scotland 1st & 2nd reprint
July
27 Welcome to the London 2012 Olympic Games
From 27 Olympic Gold Medals
August
29 Welcome to the London 2012 Paralympic Games
From 31 Paralympic Gold Medal stamps
September

27 Memories of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
27 Railways of Scotland booklet
28 Pictorial Faststamps - Cattle
October
Retail booklet 6 x 1st Definitives
The Last Goon Show Commemorative Sheet
 -- World of Dinosaurs ->2013
16 Space Science
23 Lest We Forget Poppy
November
6 Christmas
8 Notts County FC Commemorative Sheet

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Norvic Philatelics, PO Box 119, Dereham, NR20 3YN, GB. -- UK Phone: 08450 090939 -- Skype:ian.billings-norvic


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