CAPTAIN MICHAEL J. SMITH - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT L. "BOB" STEWART, CAPTAIN DAVID C. LEESTMA, FRANKLIN F. CHANG-DIAZ, MIKE (JOHN M.) LOUNGE, CAPTAIN RICHARD RICHARDS, COLONEL DAVID C. HILMERS, JAMES P. BAGIAN, COLONEL ROBERT C. SPRINGER - HFSID 311276

MICHAEL J. SMITH AND OTHERS FROM THE NASA ASTRONAUT GROUP 9
The pilot of the disastrous Challenger mission and several others from the NASA Astronaut Group 9 sign on this commemorative envelope
First Day Cover Signed: "Bob Springer", "Mike Lounge", "Mike Smith", "Bob Stewart", "Franklin F. Chang", "Dave Leestma", "Richards Richards", "James Bagian", "David Hilmers". 6½x4½First Day Cover commemorating a Russian space mission, encapsulated in a PSA/DNA holder (measures 10¼x6¾). MICHAEL J. SMITH (1945-1986) was selected to be the pilot of his first flight into space aboard the Challenger. On January 28, 1986, Smith and his six colleagues were killed when the Challenger 51-L space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. He was the only member of Astronaut Group 9 aboard the Challenger when it exploded. Mission Specialist ROBERT L. "BOB" STEWART (b.1942) flew aboard ChallengerSTS-41B (1984) where he and Bruce McCandless took the first untethered space walks. In 1985, Stewart flew on the maiden voyage of Atlantis (STS-51J). Before his NASA experience, Stewart was a member of the United States Army - during which time he became an aviator, flying over one-thousand hours combat time. Born in Costa Rica, physicist FRANKLIN CHANG-DIAZ (b.1950) is a veteran of a record-tying seven shuttle missions. He was a mission specialist on Columbia STS-61C (1986), Atlantis STS-34 (1989), Atlantis STS-46 (1992), Discovery STS-60 (1994), Discovery STS-91 (1998) and Endeavour STS-111 (2002) and payload commander of Columbia STS-75 (1996). DAVID C. HILMERS (b.1950) was a Marine Corps bombardier/navigator and air liaison officer before being selected for the astronaut program in 1980. He logged 493 hours in space as a mission specialist on four space shuttle flights between 1985 and 1992, two aboard Atlantis and two aboard Discovery. Retired from NASA since 1992, he joined the faculty of the Baylor College of Medicine. DAVID C. LEESTMA (b.1949), a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, logged over 3,500 hours of flight time while in the U.S. Navy. A veteran of three space flights, he flew on missions STS-41G Challenger (October 5-13, 1984), STS-28 Columbia (August 8-13, 1989) and STS-45 Atlantis (March 24-April 2, 1992). MICHAEL LOUNGE (1946-2011) was aboard the seven-day Discovery mission launched August 27, 1985, during which the crew aboard repaired the Syncom 3 satellite. Lounge was also aboard the Discovery after it was redesigned and was the first space shuttle launched after the Challenger disaster. JAMES P. BAGIAN (b.1952) is an engineer and former NASA astronaut, beginning his astronaut career in July of 1980. He helped develop the pressure suit used for crew escape and various other crew survival equipment. A veteran of two space flights, Bagian has logged over 337 hours in space. RICHARD N. RICHARDS (b.1946) is a former NASA astronaut, logging 33 days of space flight over the course 4 shuttle trips including the STS-28, STS-41, STS-50, and STS-64. Colonel ROBERT C. SPRINGER (b.1942) flew as a mission specialist on Discovery STS-29 (1989), and Atlantis STS-38 (1990). Light surface creases. Corners and edges slightly worn. Otherwise, fine condition.