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Highly-prized exhibits with dozens of space-flown covers will be the focus of a high level astrophilatelic show entitled „Astrophil 2013" in Berlin this Spring. Covers flown to space stations Salyut 6, Salyut 7, MIR and the International Space Station will be on display, as well as philatelic envelopes carried to the Moon by Apollo 11, 13, 14 and 15.

And that's not all! Two cosmonauts will give presentations during the show: Russian veteran Vladimir Kovalyonok and the first German cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn will also be signing autographs. "Astrophil 2013 – Joint German-Russian exhibition on space philately” commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first spaceflight undertaken by a woman cosmonaut, and the 35th anniversary of the first flight of a German national into space. The show takes place from to 12 to 14 April 2013 in the Russian House for Science and Culture in Berlin.

In addition to world-class standard exhibits owned the President of the FIP Section on Astrophilately, Igor Rodin from Moscow, and the equally exclusive "Cosmic Mail” collection owned by Austrian Walter M. Hopferwieser, a total of 30 exhibits from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Romania, Russia and Switzerland will be on display. The exhibits will cover the whole range of collection types: astrophilatelic exhibits as well as thematic exhibits or Open Class collections. "We are proud to be able to come to Berlin and present such a wide range of specimens from our collections. This is the first ‘space-only’ stamp exhibition in Germany for ages”, says Florian Noller, President of the Working Group on Space Philately (Bundesarbeits-gemeinschaft Weltraum Philatelie e. V.)

The Federal Working Group on Space Philately (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Weltraum Philatelie" e. V.) in the Federation of German Philatelists (BDPh)is hosting the exhibition jointly with the President of the FIP Section on Astrophilately, Igor Rodin from Moscow. The Federation of Berlin Stamp Clubs (Verband Berliner Philatelisten-Vereine), the Association of Russia/UdSSR Stamp Collectors Berlin (Verein der Briefmarkenfreunde Rußland/UdSSR Berlin) and the Russian House of Science and Culture are also partners in the ambitious endeavour, which takes place on the „Day of Cosmonautics", the annual celebration of the very first manned space flight which took place in 1961.

On 13 April, the German Postal Service will also be attending the show with a mobile Post Office. The Post Office will carry a pictorial postmarker commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first spaceflight undertaken by a woman - Valentina Tereshkova -accompanied by an official printed cover and a personalised stamp. Postmark permit meter slogan cancellations commemorating cosmonauts Kovalyonok and Jähn as well as stamps issued by private postal companies will also be available from the club. The two stamp clubs are organising a 'swap shop' for space collectors where they will be able to swap, buy and/or sell space stamps and covers, or just chat about their hobby.

The swap shop will take place on Saturday morning In the afternoon, cosmonauts Kovalyonok and Jähn will be sharing memories of their joint "Intercosmos” space flight on Salyut 6, followed by round table talk about the future of manned space exploration. An autograph-signing session will conclude the afternoon.
Sunday is dedicated exclusively to astrophilately. The President of the FIP (International Philatelic Federation) Section on Astrophilately, Igor Rodin, will chair a seminar on how to put together an astrophilatelic collection. On this occasion, Rodin will share a video on space-flown mail produced onboard space station MIR. Walter M. Hopferwieser from Salzburg will then share his latest research on Cosmic Mail. Hopferwieser, a renowned official expert on Cosmic Mail, is soon to publish a new catalogue on the topic.
Title of the event: „Astrophil 2013 – Joint German-Russian Exhibition on Space Philately" on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the first spaceflight undertaken by a woman and the 35th anniversary of the first spaceflight undertaken by a German citizen.
Location: Russian House for Science and Culture, Friedrichstraße 176-179, 10117 Berlin. (U-Bahn Stadtmitte). http://www.russisches-haus.de (German and Russian only)
Official opening: Friday, 12 April 2013, 18h00.
Opening hours: Saturday, 13 April 2013, from 10h00 to 18h00.
Sunday, 14 April 2013, from 10h00 to 16h00.
Website: http://www.weltraumphilatelie.de   http://www.astrophilatelist.com

Your press contact:
Jürgen Peter Esders, Weltraum Philatelie e. V., Rue Paul Devigne 21-27, Boîte 6, 1030 Brussels, Belgium, e-mail: jpesders@web.de, Tel. +32 2 248.26.20