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| Apollo 4 launch cover with KSC cachet postmarked November 9, 1967, signed by Wernher von Braun. |
Apollo 4 (also known as AS-501) was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle that was later used by the U.S. Apollo program to send the first astronauts to the Moon. The space vehicle was assembled in the Vertical Assembly Building, and was the first to be launched from Launch Complex 39 at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, facilities built specially for the Saturn V. At that time, it was the largest launch vehicle to ever attempt a flight.
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| Photo: The 364-foot Saturn 5 rocket and its mobile transporter and launching tower. |
Apollo 4 was an "all-up" test, meaning all rocket stages and spacecraft were fully functional on the initial flight, a first for NASA. The mission lasted almost nine hours, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, achieving all mission goals.
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| "Space Craft" Apollo 4 launch cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral, November 9, 1967. |
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| Photo: NASA drawings depicts the return of the Apollo 4 capsule. |
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| An unusual Beck printed cachet cover with a KSC cachet applied and postmarked on November 9, 1967. |
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| Photo: Apollo 4 capsule splashdown in the Pacific Ocean and recovered by USS Bennington. |
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| Beck printed cachet cover B727, B728 with USS Bennington machine cancel and hand cancel. |
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| Photo: The recovered Apollo 4 capsule loaded onto the USS Bennington. |
