USPS launches Star Trek stamps

Last week, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Star Trek Forever stamps in New York City. The first-day-of-issue ceremony launched a three-day celebration that drew thousands of Star Trek fans.

“The Postal Service is proud to commemorate ‘Star Trek’ on the eve of its 50th anniversary,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan in a USPS news release, referring to the iconic television program’s Sept. 8, 1966, debut. “Star Trek’s intricate futuristic setting, multicultural cast and story lines touched on social issues and pushed past the boundaries of popular science fiction becoming a worldwide phenomenon.”

Joining Brennan in dedicating the stamps were actor and humanitarian Walter Koenig, who portrayed U.S.S. Enterprise’s navigation officer Pavel Chekov in the series; NASA Deputy Director of Science for Communication Michelle Thaller; CBS Consumer Products Executive Vice President and General Manager Liz Kaloduer; and, U.S. Postal Service Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell.

“With the chaos in today’s world, hopefully the stamps and what they signify can inspire a better future for us all,” Koenig said, in the release.

“’Star Trek’ gave us a universe that we could explore in our imagination,” Thaller said. “In this universe we pioneered not only new technology and new worlds, but — more importantly — new social rules and new definitions of tolerance and diversity. In Star Trek’s universe, we found better ways to be human.”

The stamps, under license by CBS Consumer Products, showcase four digital illustrations inspired by classic elements of the television program:

• The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia against a gold background;
• The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background;
• The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background; and,
• The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock’s iconic hand gesture) against a blue background.

The words “SPACE… THE FINAL FRONTIER,” from Captain Kirk’s famous voice-over appears beneath the stamps against a background of stars. The stamp images were created by the design firm Heads of State of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, Virginia.

“Star Trek” celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the original “Star Trek” series aired for three seasons. It spawned five more television series and 13 feature films spanning the course of half a century.