1975 Apollo-Soyuz Mission First Day Of Issue Envelope & 10¢ Stamp

July 15, 1975 – First Joint U.S. – Soviet mission Apollo-Soyuz test mission launches.
The U.S. Postal Service issued this se-tenant pair of two 10-cent multicolored stamps on July 15, 1975, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Inexplicably, the circular program insignia on the left-hand stamp is rotated to the Soviet configuration, showing the red Soyuz section on the left. The Soviet Union also released stamps of similar design (Russia Scott 4339–4340) at the same time. This denomination paid the domestic first-class rate for letters weighing less than half ounce. Robert T. McCall designed the 'after link-up' image, and Anatoly Aksamit designed the 'before link-up' image. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced the stamps on the Andreotti press in sheets of ninety-six stamps, panes of twenty-four. Quantities issued for this pair of postage issues totaled more than 161 million.