AS-202 was the second unmanned, suborbital test flight of a production Block I Apollo command and service module (CSM) launched with the Saturn IB launch vehicle. It was launched on August 25, 1966, and was the first flight which included the spacecraft guidance and navigation control system and fuel cells.
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 launch cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 launch cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet, postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on August 25, 1966. |
AS-202 was the third test flight of the Saturn IB, because a delay in the readiness of the Apollo spacecraft 011 pushed its launch past the July 1966 launch of AS-203. It was designed to test the rocket more than had been done on AS-201 by launching the rocket higher and having the flight lasting twice as long. It also tested the command and service module (CSM-011), basically a production model capable of carrying a crew, but lacked the crew couches and some displays. The flight was also designed to test the heat shield by subjecting it to 260 megajoules per square meter.
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 launch cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 launch cover from "SpaceCraft Swanson", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 launch cover from "Goldcraft", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Hornet with a less common hand cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B673” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Hornet with a machine cancel on August 25, 1966. |
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| A Saturn IB AS-202 recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B673” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Hornet with a machine cancel on August 25, 1966. This machine cancel is a less common variation with an "AM" time slug. |
