USSR - 1961 - second man in Space - commemorative FDC cover with k.6 "Vostok 2" (Unificato n.2453), devoted to Herman Titov with Moscow canc. of 10.1.1964 applied on the occasion of the philatelic congress - signature of the second man in Space, on 6-7.8.1961 aboard Vostok 2 - cert.Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga in English - very good quality - Foto - (12654F)

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USSR - 1987 - orbital station Mir - space letter of the Soviet-Syrian Soyuz TM-3 flight - Mir board pentagonal postmark in black, official canc. "Syria 22.07.87", launch day, and Soviet-Syrian "CC*CP 24.07.87", to commemorate the docking with Mir and the international character of the Soviet-Syrian flight - signatures of Y.Romanenko and A.Laveikin (Soyuz TM-2 aboard the station), A.Viktorenko, A.Alexandrov and M.Faris, Syria (Soyuz TM-3) - cert. of USSR Science Academy (Intercosmos) and Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, both in English - very good quality - Foto - (12651F)

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USSR - 1988 - first postage stamp of space mail service - block n.32/100 of 10 ex. r.1 ADF on the right, Unificato n.5573, the postage stamp "Science" of 1976 with red overprint "Kosmiceskaya Posta" (Space Mail) issued on 16.12.1988 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of a probe sent to the Moon, Lunik-1 (2.1.1959) - rare the block of 10 ex., with three margins (cat.Bolaffi 1990, "Dalla Terra alla Luna": "the sheet is always with no margins on two sides") - signatures of the three cosmonauts, protagonists, on the following year, of Mir mission with the official opening of the first space post office for cosmonauts' mail: A.Volkov, S.Krikalev and V.Poliakov - A.Bolaffi - very good quality - Foto - (12646F)

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USSR - 1988 - orbital station Mir - space letter of the Soviet-Afghan Soyuz TM-6 flight, left on 29.8.1988 and returned aboard Soyuz TM-5 on 7.9.1988 - Mir star octagonal board postmark in blue, violet Soviet-Afghan canc. "Space Mail 31.08.88", Soyuz TM-6/Mir docking, Baikonur Cosmodrome black canc. of 7.9.1988, applied on arrival - signatures of V.Titov and M.Manarov (Soyuz TM-4), V.Lyakhov, V.Poliakov and A.Mohmand, Afghanistan (Soyuz TM-6) - very good quality - Foto - (12650F)

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USSR - 1988 - orbital station Mir - space letter "CHRÉTIEN", the first document of "space mail" relevant to a Soviet mission with an astronaut from the West (French) - cover n.18 out of 123 of the Soyuz TM-7 flight (26.11.1988-27.4.1989) - canc. "CC*CP 28.11.88", Soyuz TM-7/Mir docking; Mir star octagonal board postmark in black; French circular postmark "CNES Intercosmos 1988"; canc. "CC*CP 27.04.89", Soyuz TM-7/Mir undocking - on the back, during the philatelic exhibition Philexfrance '89, the covers are franked with the postage stamp commemorative of Jean Loup Chrétien flight (stay in outer space record, 5h 53'), and cancelled with a preceding date, 4.3.1989 - signatures of V.Titov, M.Manarov (Soyuz TM-4), V.Poliakov (Soyuz TM-6), A.Volkov, S.Krikalev and J.L.Chrétien, France (Soyuz TM-7) - Kniga cert. is lacking - A.Bolaffi (financial cert. 100% 1989) - very good quality - Foto - (12648F)

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USSR - 1989 - Mir Orbital Station - first space post office - space letters Progress 41-Mir-Soyuz TM-7 - 2 covers n.114 out of 528, outward and return, both with the first space mail postage stamp of 1 ruble with red overprint "Space Mail" and one also with 15 kop ex., 30th anniversary of the Lunik-1 launch - different Earth canc. and postmarks (Baikonur Cosmodrome and Dzheskazgan, post office) + Mir board canc. "CC*CP 18.03.89" docking Progress/Mir, "CC*CP 27.04.89" undocking Soyuz/Mir + official oval "Progress 41" and "Soyuz TM-7" - on the return space letter, on the back, signatures of the Mir crew: S.K.Krikalev, A.A.Volkov, V.V.Polyakov - registered letter coupon n.114 - bilingual Russian/English cert. Glavkosmos signed by Director A.Dunaev (also on the outward space letter) + Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga (1989) with also copy in Russian and summary in English and Italian of the decree issued by the Russian Ministry of Communication for the opening of the first Russian Post Office in Space, aboard Mir - A.Bolaffi (financial cert. 100% 1989) - very good quality - Foto - (12642F)

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