Not only is this envelope neat because of its design and awesome stamp, it may also be the evidence needed to identify China's taikonauts. China keeps this information secret, but the sharp-eyed curators over at collectSPACE spotted this cover* and noticed that it is "signed by seven Chinese pilots. The group included two women, one of whom may soon become China's first female astronaut, or "taikonaut," to reach space.
"The names of the military pilots selected in 2010 to form China's second group of taikonauts – which have been a closely guarded secret for the last 18 months – appear to have been released [as the result of] a possible philatelic blunder," said Tony Quine, an Isle of Man-based space memorabilia collector and contributing writer for the British Interplanetary Society's "Spaceflight" magazine.
Quine worked together with Russian space industry expert Igor Lissov to confirm the cover's autographs since finding it listed for sale on a German space dealer's website two days ago. The two also elicited the assistance of Chinese space enthusiasts to verify the signatures' translation.
The stamped envelope was postmarked in China on May 10, 2010, the same day that the country's space program reportedly appointed the candidates to its astronaut corps."
More information is on the collectSPACE sight. I love that stamp collecting may have leaked a state secret. It's just so very pulp fiction! *A "cover" is a philatellic term for a stamped and postmarked envelope.
People are so smart. There's no fooling them, is there? LOL. Now someone has to save face and resign. Nice stamp. Very nice.
Posted by: Limner | January 16, 2012 at 01:43 PM