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| Apollo 14 crew-signed launch cover featuring the mission insignia cachet, signed by Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, and postmarked at Kennedy Space Center on January 31, 1971. - RegencyStamps |
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| Photo: Apollo 14 crew members Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa (from left to right) at a news conference on January 9, 1971. |
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| Photo: Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell recently demonstrates a twenty-pound cart designed for lunar exploration in Washington. This cart can carry seventy pounds of equipment, which includes six core tubes, a trenching tool, two geology scoops, four rock bags, a portable magnetometer for measuring the Moon's magnetic field, and five cameras. During their second moonwalk, astronauts Mitchell and Shepard will take turns pulling the cart from the lunar module to Cone Crater. |
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| Apollo 14 KSC mailer's postmark permit canceled on launch day, January 31, 1971. |
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| Photo: Photo: A staff member tests the digital clock that counts down hours, minutes, and seconds to liftoff. |
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| Photo: Apollo 14 astronauts in quarantine, seated in a glass-enclosed room during a briefing session on January 27, 1971. |
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| Apollo 14 backup crew signed launch cover, featuring signatures from Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Joe Engle, with a postmark from KSC dated January 31, 1971. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 14 crew goes over the mission plan on the day prior to their scheduled launch. |
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| Photo: Dr. Wernher von Braun shakes hands with Vice President Spiro Agnew, alongside Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife, Sofia, at the Kennedy Space Center, where they observed the launch of Apollo 14 to the Moon. |
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| The launch was flawless, and the subsequent upper-stage burns set Apollo 14 on its planned trajectory to the Moon. However, a significant issue arose when command module pilot Stu Roosa made five attempts to dock with the lunar module, but the latches on the docking assembly failed to lock. After nearly two hours of discussions with mission control, Roosa made one final docking attempt, which was successful. |
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| The Apollo Saturn V SIVB served as the third stage of the Saturn V booster. After establishing a trajectory toward the Moon, the lunar module (LM) and command and service module (CSM) detached from the SIVB on February 1, 1971. The SIVB was then set on a path toward the Moon, where it impacted on February 4, creating a seismic source for the ALSEP seismic stations. |
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| Alan Shepard was among the Mercury astronauts selected by NASA in April 1959. He became the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961, aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Notably, he was the only Mercury astronaut to journey to the Moon. |
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| Apollo 14 crew-signed moon landing cover. This NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club cacheted cover features signatures from the entire Apollo 14 crew—Alan Shepard, Ed Mitchell, and Stu Roosa—along with a mimeographed letter from the MSC Stamp Club. - RegencyStamps |
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| Photo: Views of the lunar surface at the Apollo 14 landing site. |
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| "First Man On The Moon" (Scott #C76) plate block of four stamps that flew to the surface of the moon on Apollo 14, January 31 - February 9, 1971. Originally presented to Mrs. Ann Sakowitz by Alan Shepard. On the wide selvage, the Mission Commander has written in black ink: "Landed Frau Mauro/ in Antares- 2/5/71/ Alan Shepard". On the narrow selvage are the signatures in blue ink: "Ed Mitchell" and "Stuart A Roosa". This came from the collection of Robert T. Sakowitz. - Heritage Auctions |
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| The liftoff from "Antares" on the lunar surface occurred on February 6, 1971. |
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| Photo: USS New Orleans, the prime recovery ship for Apollo 14. |
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| Apollo 14 cover featuring an Ekas stamped cachet, postmarked by USS New Orleans on February 9, 1971. |
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| Apollo 14 cover B861 with a Beck printed cachet, signed by Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell. - RRAuction |
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| USS New Orleans recovery ship cover featuring a Beck rubber stamped cachet, signed by recovery helicopter pilot Cdr. W. E. Walker, co-pilot Lt. Thomas F. Finley, AWC Davey, and AW3 Lipich. |
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| Apollo 14 recovery cover postmarked aboard the USS New Orleans on February 9, 1971, and signed by Houston Mayor Louie Welch, who also included a letter of transmittal. The letter, hand-addressed and signed by the well-known mayor, was addressed to Mrs. Ann Sakowitz and stated, "For your collection!"—indicating that he was aware of her enthusiasm for stamps and covers. This cover was previously owned by Robert T. Sakowitz. - Heritage Auctions | |
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| Cover from a Press Pool member featuring a Beck rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard the USS New Orleans on February 9, 1971. |
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| Photo: Captain Robert E. Moore, Commanding Officer of the USS New Orleans, presenting a large cake to the Apollo 14 astronauts on behalf of his crew. |
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| Apollo 14 Prime Recovery Ship cover from the USS New Orleans LPH-11, signed by Captain Robert E. Moore, postmarked on February 9, 1971. |
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| KSC exchanged cover postmarked from the USS New Orleans, featuring a unique PM time slug; this is the only known example of such a cover. |
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| Apollo 14 "Orbit Covers" featuring a Beck rubber stamped cachet. |
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| Photo: Apollo 14 crew members Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard examining the largest rock ever brought to Earth from the Moon. |
