Stamp Museum >> World Space Stamps >> US Space Stamps >> The First Space Stamp: Fort Bliss/V-2, 1948
The first U.S. Space Stamp: Fort Bliss Centennial
Fort Bliss Centenial, 3 cents, Scott Catalog No. 976, Issued in 1948
It is the decade of World War II, and many of the German rocket scientists have been brought to a remote desert base in the U.S. Located just north of El Paso, Texas, Fort Bliss is the location chosen to rebuild and launch captured V-2 rockets. This stamp, at 3 cents reflects the rate for a first class envelope posted by surface mail in the U.S. in 1948. The centerpiece of this engraved stamp is the image of a V-2 moments after ignition. The captured V-2 rocket was the first U.S. experience with guided, liquid fuel rocket technologies.
This stamp was printed with the intaglio process by yje U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.