Work in progress. Still trying to figure out what I have / don’t have, and the Solar Covers numbering system which is not always written on the insert.
In a 1973 copy of ‘Explorer’, the International Association of Space Philatelists (IASP) journal, I read that Roger Jarrell (or possibly Rodger Jarrell) from Huntington, West Virginia was responsible for the brand ‘Solar Covers’. That’s all I know at this stage. Can anyone shed any more light on this brand or the producer himself ?
It is possible that i’m missing one or two of the earliest Solar Covers between # 1 and # 6 (these early covers are not numbered). I’m not sure what event it could be for, but candidates include the following: Intelsat 3 F6 (14th Jan 1970), ITOS 1 (23rd Jan 1970), Sert 2 (3rd Feb 1970), NATO 2A (21st Mar 1970), Apollo 13 (13th April 1970), RAM C-3 (30th Sep 1970), Secede III Barium release (5th Oct 1970) and possibly the other ‘secret satellite’ launches in 1970 including Rhyolite 1, Canyon 3, DSP1, etc. Can anyone help ? Based on the letters that accompanied some of the earlier covers shown below, Solar Covers didn’t form until after mid-Apr 1970.
Not marked as Solar Covers but some of these covers look like they might belong here, based on the artwork, font, text, layout, colours, etc. Perhaps some of these were Roger Jarrell productions ?
Solar Cover (Not marked as a Solar Cover, but it came with the letter from Solar Covers, shown below) – Vela 11 & Vela 12 – 8th Apr 1970:
Solar Cover (Not marked as a Solar Cover, but seems very similar to the above & below) – Nimbus 4 – 8th Apr 1970:
Solar Cover (Not marked as a Solar Cover, but it came with the letter from Solar Covers, shown below) – S-IVB Impact on the Moon – 14th Apr 1970:
Solar Cover (possibly # 1?) – Intelsat III F7 – 22nd Apr 1970:
Solar Cover (possibly # 2?) – Intelsat III F8 – 23rd Jul 1970:
Solar Cover (possibly # 3? Not marked as a Solar Cover but the note from Huntington WV is a clue) – Poseidon C3 Launch – 3rd Aug 1970:
Solar Cover (possibly # 4?) – SKYNET B – 19th Aug 1970:
Solar Cover (possibly # 5?) – SPED 2 – 9th Oct 1970:
Solar Cover # 6 (?) – OAO B – 30th Nov 1970:
Solar Cover # 7 – ITOS A – 11th Dec 1970:
Solar Cover # 8 (?) – Intelsat IV – 25th Jan 1971:
Solar Cover # 9 – Apollo 14 Launch – 31st Jan 1971:
Solar Cover # 10 – Apollo 14 Lunar Landing – 5th Feb 1971:
Solar Cover # 11 – Apollo 14 Recovery – 9th Feb 1971:
Solar Cover # 12 (?) – NATO B – 2nd Feb 1971:
I believe the numbering is a bit out of sync here. Perhaps NATO B cover is number 12 ?
Solar Cover # 13 – WANTED
There seems to be a cover missing around this point in time. Perhaps one of the following 3 covers could be it. The artwork seems about right, but none of these covers came with an insert (that i’ve ever seen), as most other Solar Covers did. None show a Solar Covers logo. In fact there is already a known Solar Cover for the Intelsat 4 and NATO B launches (see above) but i’ll show them here anyway because they somehow seem to “fit in”. These 3 covers came from the same source as some of the other early Solar Covers that I show on this page.
Solar Cover # 14 – ISIS B – 31st Mar 1971:
Solar Cover # 15 – Decade of Man in Space – 5th May 1971:
Solar Cover # 16 – Mariner 8 – 9th May 1971:
Solar Cover # 17 – Mariner 9 – 1st Jun 1971:
Solar Cover # 18 – Apollo 15 Launch – 26th Jul 1971:
Solar Cover # 19 – Apollo 15 Lunar Landing – 30th Jul 1971:
Solar Cover # 20A – Apollo Lunar Rover – 31st Jul 1971:
Solar Cover # 20B – Decade of Achievement – 2nd Aug 1971:
Solar Cover # 21 – Apollo 15 Sub-satellite – 4th Aug 1971:
Solar Cover # 22 – Apollo 15 Space Walk – 5th Aug 1971:
Solar Cover # 23 – Apollo 15 Recovery – 7th Aug 1971:
Solar Cover # 24 – WANTED
Solar Cover # 25 – ITOS B – 21st Oct 1971
Solar Cover # 26 – Al Worden Hometown (Jackson, Michigan)
Solar Cover # 27 – EOLE 1 – 16th Aug 1971:
Solar Cover # 28 – OSO H – 29th Sep 1971:
Solar Cover # 29 – UK 4 – 11th Dec 1971:
Solar Cover # 30 – Intelsat IV F3 – 19th Dec 1971:
Solar Cover # 31 – Mariner 9 Mars Orbit – 15th Nov 1971:
Solar Cover # 32 – Intelsat IV F4 – 24th Jan 1972:
Solar Cover # 33 – Apollo 16 Rollback – 27th Jan 1972:
Solar Cover # 34 – Heos A2 – 31st Jan 1972:
Solar Cover # 35 – ESRO TD 1A – 11th Mar 1972:
Solar Cover # 36 – Apollo 16 Launch – 16th Apr 1972:
Solar Cover # 37 – Apollo 16 Lunar Landing – 20th Apr 1972:
Solar Cover # 38 – Apollo 16 Sub-satellite – 24th Apr 1972:
Solar Cover # 39 – Apollo 16 Man’s Second Walk in Deep Space – 25th Apr 1972:
Solar Cover # 40 – WANTED (possibly Apollo 16 Return to Earth ?)
Solar Cover # 41 – Opening Day Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum – 20th Jul 1972:
Solar Cover # 42 – ERTS A – 23rd Jul 1972:
Solar Cover # 43 ? – WANTED
Solar Cover # 44 ? – WANTED
Solar Cover # 45 – OAO C – 21st Aug 1972:
Solar Cover # 46 – ANIK 1 – 9th Nov 1972:
Solar Cover # 47 – Slogan Cancellation FDI Bellwood, IL / Home of Astronaut Gene Cernan – 6th Dec 1972:
Solar Cover # 48 – Apollo 17 Launch – 7th Dec 1972:
Solar Cover # 49 – WANTED
Solar Cover # 50 – WANTED
Solar Cover # 51 – WANTED
Solar Cover # 52 – ITOS D – 15th Oct 1972:
Solar Cover # 53 – WANTED
Solar Cover # 54 – Apollo 17 Moon Landing – 11th Dec 1972:
Solar Cover # 55 – Apollo 17 Transearth EVA – 17th Dec 1972:
Solar Cover # 56 – WANTED (possibly Apollo 17 Return to Earth?)
Solar Cover # 57 (?) / Swick (?) – Copernicus – 23rd Apr 1973:
Solar Covers placed an advertisement in the IASP Explorer magazine (Vol. 13, No. 4 & 5 APRIL – MAY 1973) with the following text:
SKYLAB SELF-SERVICE ENVELOPES featuring the mission insignia printed in full color on high quality parchment envelopes. 2 for 40c; 5 for 75c; 10 for $1.25; 15 for $1.65; 20 or more – 10c each. Solar Covers / 910 Fern Court / Huntington, WV 25701
If the covers referred to in this advertisement were in fact made by Solar Covers (and printed with the logo) I have never seen one. Can anyone help ?