Smithsonian Institution
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Asset Name:
media:NASM-A20020096000cp02

File Usage:

Not determined
There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page at https://www.si.edu/Termsofuse


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Object details:

Object Name: Commemorative Cover, Millennium Midnight
Smithsonian Record ID: edanmdm:nasm_A20020096000

	Object Name
	Commemorative Cover, Millennium Midnight

	Metadata Usage
	Not determined

	Guid
	http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9e8c6eb00-5efd-48cd-9753-716fc343991d

	Data Source
	National Air and Space Museum

	Materials
	Paper

	Materials
	Ink

	Materials
	Plastic

	Materials
	Adhesive

	Dimensions
	2-D - Unframed (H x W): 18.9 × 16cm (7 7/16 × 6 5/16 in.)

	Dimensions
	Storage: 24.1 × 21 × 0.3cm (9 1/2 × 8 1/4 × 1/8 in.)

	Summary
	To celebrate the turn of the millennium, the Isle of Man Post Office issued a commemorative first day cover featuring three postage stamps inspired by astronomy. The stamps depict the night sky over the Isle of Man, as well as a clock and a time-date label. In sequence, they represent a minute before midnight December 31, 1999; midnight; and a minute after midnight on January 1, 2000. Each stamp is cancelled at the matching time, making the third one the first postage stamp issued in the world at the turn of the millennium. The third stamp in the set also shows the orbital track of the International Space Station over the island. The Isle of Man Post Office consulted with NASA in developing the stamp design and arranging for one of the first day covers to be flown on Space Shuttle mission STS-105 to the International Space Station in 2001.

	Summary
	After the mission, the Isle of Man Post Office donated the flown-in-space Millennium Midnight cover to the National Air and Space Museum.

	Country of Origin
	Isle of Man

	Credit Line
	Gift of Isle of Man Post Office Official First Day Cover, Millennium Midnight.

	Inventory Number
	A20020096000

	Type
	LITERATURE AND RESEARCH-Philately

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