JUDITH A. "JUDY" RESNIK - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED - HFSID 50122

JUDY RESNIK
Judy Resnik signs a philatelic envelope honoring the Viking Mission to Mars.
Philatelic Envelope signed: "Judith A. Resnik", 6½x3½. First Day Cover honoring the Viking Mission to Mars, 15-cent Viking stamp affixed, postmarked Hampton, Virginia, July 20, 1978, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. Judy Resnik (1949-1986), the first Jewish astronaut, first flew as a mission specialist on STS 41-D, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on August 30, 1984. This was the maiden flight of the orbiter Discovery. During this seven-day mission, the crew successfully activated the OAST-1 solar cell wing experiment, deployed three satellites and operated the CFES-III student crystal growth experiment and the photography experiments using the IMAX motion picture camera. On the morning of January 28, 1986, 72 seconds after liftoff, the second in a series of NASA's manned orbiting space shuttles exploded. Resnik and six fellow Challenger STS 51-L crew members were killed. In the 25-year history of the NASA Programs, three tragedies have occurred: the first claimed the lives of three astronauts during a launch pad fire; the second, the catastrophe of Challenger - one day after the nineteenth anniversary of Apollo 1; and the third, the explosion of Columbia STS-107 killing all seven astronauts, 16 minutes from home. THIS ENVELOPE WAS ALSO POSTMARKED KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA, JANUARY 28, 1986, THE DAY OF THE CHALLENGER DISASTER. Slightly creased. Stamp on verso (no show through). Fine condition.