1975-05-24 USSR Soyuz 18

A cover featuring a Soyuz 18 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on September 12, 1975. It is signed by Pyotr Klimuk and Vitaly Sevastyanov.

A cover illustrating Soyuz 18 docked with the Salyut 4 space station on May 25, 1975, signed by Pyotr Klimuk and Vitaly Sevastyanov.

1975-01-11 USSR Soyuz 17

A cover featuring a Soyuz 17 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on March 28, 1975. It is signed by Aleksei Gubarev and Georgy Grechko.

1974-12-02 USSR Soyuz 16

A cover featuring a Soyuz 16 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on December 2, 1974. It is signed by Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov.

This cover depicts the return of Soyuz 16 to Earth and is postmarked on December 8, 1974, signed by Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov. It features a hand-painted cachet created by the artist Detlev Van Ravenswaay.

The tracking of Soyuz 16 during its December 2, 1974 mission involved cooperation between the Soviet Union and the United States. The flight served as a full rehearsal for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. Although the United States was not informed beforehand, it was still able to track the spacecraft and carry out a simulated launch to prepare for the upcoming joint mission.

1974-08-26 USSR Soyuz 15

A cover featuring a Soyuz 15 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 18, 1974. It is signed by Gennady Sarafanov and Lev Dyomin.

This cover depicts the return of Soyuz 15 to Earth and is postmarked on August 28, 1974.

1974-07-03 USSR Soyuz 14

A cover featuring a Soyuz 14 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 18, 1974. It is signed by Pavel Popovich and Yuri Artyukhin.

Soyuz 14 launch cover, postmarked July 3, 1974, signed by Pavel Popovich and Yuri Artyukhin.

A cover featuring Soyuz 14 docked with space station Salyut 3, postmarked July 4, 1974, signed by Pavel Popovich and Yuri Artyukhin.

1973-12-18 USSR Soyuz 13

A cover featuring a Soyuz 13 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on March 27, 1974. It is signed by Pyotr Klimuk and Valentin Lebedev.

Soyuz 13 launch cover, postmarked December 18, 1973, signed by Pyotr Klimuk and Valentin Lebedev.

1973-09-27 USSR Soyuz 12

A cover featuring a Soyuz 12 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on March 27, 1974. It is signed by Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov.

Soyuz 12 launch cover, postmarked on September 27, 1973. It is signed by Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov.

1971-06-06 USSR Soyuz 11

Photo: The Soyuz 11 crew, featuring Georgi Dobrovolski (left), Vladislav Volkov (right), and Viktor Patsayev (in the background).

Soyuz 11 was the sole crewed mission to board the world’s first space station, Salyut 1 (while Soyuz 10 had soft-docked, it was unable to enter due to latching issues). The crew, consisting of Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on June 7, 1971, and departed on June 29, 1971. Tragically, the mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during re-entry preparations, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members. The crew of Soyuz 11 remains the only humans to have died in space.

A cover featuring a Soyuz 11 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 20, 1971.

Launch of Soyuz 11 on June 6, 1971.

Soyuz 11 docked with Salyut 1 on June 7, 1971.

The return of Soyuz 11 took place on June 29, 1971.

(Reference from Soyuz 11)

1971-04-23 USSR Soyuz 10

Soyuz 10 launch cover, postmarked on April 23, 1971, signed by Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksei Yeliseyev, Nikolai Rukavishnikov.

Soyuz 10 docked with Salyut, postmarked on April 24, 1971, signed by Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksei Yeliseyev, Nikolai Rukavishnikov.

1970-06-01 USSR Soyuz 9

A cover featuring a Soyuz 9 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on July 7, 1970, and signed by Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov.

1969-10-13 USSR Soyuz 8

A cover featuring a Soyuz 8 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 22, 1969. It is signed by Vladimir Shatalov and Aleksei Yeliseyev.

Photo: The seven cosmonauts from Soyuz 6, 7 and 8 missions.

1969-10-12 USSR Soyuz 7

A cover featuring a Soyuz 7 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 22, 1969. It is signed by Anatoly Filipchenko, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Gorbatko.

1969-10-11 USSR Soyuz 6

A cover featuring a Soyuz 6 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on October 22, 1969. It is signed by Georgy Shonin and Valeri Kubasov.

1969-01-14 USSR Soyuz 4 and 5

Soyuz 4 was launched on January 14, 1969, carrying cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov on his first flight. The mission aimed to dock with Soyuz 5, which launched the following day, transfer two crew members from that spacecraft, and then return to Earth. Soyuz 5 was commanded by Boris Volynov and included flight engineers Aleksei Yeliseyev and Yevgeny Khrunov, who were set to be transferred to Soyuz 4 for reentry. The mission plan encompassed scientific, technical, and medical-biological research, as well as testing spacecraft systems and design elements, docking of crewed spacecraft, and the transfer of cosmonauts between vehicles in orbit.

A cover featuring Soyuz 4 and 5 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on January 22, 1969. It is signed by Vladimir Shatalov, Boris Volynov, Aleksei Yeliseyev and Yevgeny Khrunov

(Reference from Soyuz 5)

1968-10-26 USSR Soyuz 3

A cover featuring a Soyuz 3 stamp, produced by KNIGA, and postmarked on December 14, 1968. It is signed by Georgy Beregovoy.

1967-04-23 USSR Soyuz 1

Soyuz 1 launch cover with a Kaluga postmark on April 23, 1967.

Photo: This image published by an official Communist news agency, shows veteran cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov undergoing a medical test prior to his space mission on April 22. Komarov, aboard his spacecraft Soyuz 1, is orbiting the Earth at a speed of 18,641 miles per hour.

A launch cover for Soyuz 1, featuring a Liepaja postmark dated April 23, 1967.

Photo: Colonel Vladimir Komarov, who lost his life during the Soyuz 1 mission when his descent module crashed to the ground because of a parachute failure.