James Webb Space Telescope (Stellar Formations) First Day Ceremony

The U.S. Postal Service issued 2 new Priority Mail stamps celebrating the NASA James Webb Space Telescope on Monday, January 22, 2024. Although their official "first day of issue" city is Greenbelt, Maryland — home to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which manages Webb for the agency and oversees work on the mission — a traditional first of day issue ceremony was not held.

Springfield Stamp Club member, Eugene Mszar (also a Goddard Stamp Club member), was asked to service any walk-in requests for First Day of Issue stamp cancellations. The Greenbelt PO supplied Eugene with the USPS 2 hand stamps, the killer bar and bullseye cancels. Fellow Springfield Stamp Club member, Pedro Sarmiento, stopped by the January 22 First Day of Issue at the Greenbelt, MD USPO, with several of his personally created covers for First Day of Issue cancellation. Also stopping by was Allen Abel, Washington correspondent for Linn’s Stamp News.

Pedro Sarmiento proudly holding his signature full page artwork.

Eugene and Linn’s Stamp News Washington Correspondent, Allen Abel, with Pedro’s covers.

Click here to read the Linn’s story about this event.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest most powerful, and most complex telescope ever put in space, features images of the cosmos captured by Webb since it began its science mission in 2022. The first of the new stamps, a Priority Mail Express stamp, features Webb’s image of the “Cosmic Cliffs,” while the second stamp, a Priority Mail stamp, features an image of the “Pillars of Creation”.