An Original Apollo 11 First Day Cover, Signed by Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin in 1969

From the collection of renowned Admiral Hyman Rickover, who had innovated at sea as these men did in space.

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A rare example and among the very first these men signed, with a NASA cover letter sending it to Rickover

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation by establishing the goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” by the end of the...

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An Original Apollo 11 First Day Cover, Signed by Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin in 1969

From the collection of renowned Admiral Hyman Rickover, who had innovated at sea as these men did in space.

A rare example and among the very first these men signed, with a NASA cover letter sending it to Rickover

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation by establishing the goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” by the end of the decade. Eight years later that goal was accomplished, when on the Apollo 11 mission Neil Armstrong, along with Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, took their capsule to the Moon, and Armstrong took the lunar module Eagle to the lunar surface and became the first man to walk on the Moon. Two statements of Armstrong’s came to embody that accomplishment: “The Eagle has landed;” which announced the lunar module’s landing on the Moon’s surface; and “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” spoken as his foot first touched the Moon. These are two of the most famous statements made by any American of any generation.

On September 9, 1969, an event was held in Washington at the White House, with Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin in attendance.  Here they unveiled the Moon landing First Day Cover, among the most famous ever created.  On them was stamped the date of issuance, September 9, along with a July stamp commemorating the date of the landing.

The American who had the greatest impact on the United States Navy in the 20th century was Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. With unrelenting determination, Rickover advocated, in fact championed, nuclear power in his effort to modernize the  Navy, expand its reach and efficiency, and increase its firepower in a world in the midst of the Cold War. His strategy was to keep the Executive Branch and Congress fully informed and thoroughly engaged, and as a result of his success in doing so, his program was adopted. He supervised the construction of the world’s first nuclear powered submarine, USS Nautilus (which joined the fleet in January 1955), and over the next decades spearheaded the building of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet and oversaw its operations. This involved not merely outfitting submarines, but aircraft carriers and other ships as well, and increasing the firepower of the fleet with Polaris missiles. Using his submarines and missiles, American might could now be delivered to any point in the world; and American submarines could cruise, silently and never surfacing, beneath the waves shadowing Soviet naval movements, collecting Soviet missile telemetry and eavesdropping on Soviet communications. This had not merely military implications, but diplomatic ones as well; as although no point on earth was safe from destruction, the ultimate goal was deterrence rather than war.

Rickover advised all presidents from Truman through Reagan, and had close relationships with a number of them. President Kennedy consulted Rickover on many matters, including the question of the multilateral nuclear force that would place international crews on American submarines.

Rickover innovated at see by building a nuclear powered navy, as the men of the Apollo 11 did in space by reaching the moon.

An original First Day Cover, dated the day of its first issuance and signed by all 3 astronauts. Along with the cover comes a cover letter on NASA letterhead,  Autograph letter signed, by Alice Robinson, NASA secretary, to the Secretary to Adm. Rickover.  “Enclosed is Admiral Rickover’s first-day cover, which has been signed by Mr. Armstrong, Colonel Aldrin, and Colonel Collins.  They asked me to express their appreciation for the Polaris tie clasps, and I shall treasure my pin and the memory of my telephone conversation with the Admiral.”  Rickover apparently sent them congratulations with a memento of his own exploits, thus this response from the Apollo 11 crew.

This Cover was signed within days of its unveiling in Washington and does not have the additional illustrations placed on the left in later versions, leaving space for all three to sign.

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