Late Change
The first-day ceremony has been moved. See the June 17th entry below.
Announced on January 15th:
These 10 new stamps in a pane of 20 highlight stunning images of the sun that celebrate the science behind the ongoing exploration of our nearest star. The striking colors do not represent the actual colors of the sun as perceived by human eyesight. Instead, each image is colorized by NASA according to different wavelengths that reveal or highlight specific features of the sun’s activity. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with digital images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft launched in February 2010 to keep constant watch on the sun from geosynchronous orbit over the craft’s ground station in New Mexico.
Additional information will appear below the line, with the latest at the top
Updated August 2nd:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
5598 Coronal Hole
a. Imperforate
5599 Coronal Loops
a. Imperforate
5600 Solar Flare
a. Imperforate
5601 Active Sun
a. Imperforate
5602 Plasma Blast
a. Imperforate
5603 Coronal Loops, diff.
a. Imperforate
5604 Sunspots
a. Imperforate
5605 Plasma Blast, diff.
a. Imperforate
5606 Solar Flare, diff.
a. Imperforate
5607 Coronal Hole, diff.
a. Imperforate
b. Block of 10, #5598-5607
c. Imperforate block of 10, #5598a-5607a
Updated June 17th:
The Sun Science stamps dedication ceremony planned for June 18, 2021 at 11:00 a.m., at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771 has been moved due to observance of the Juneteenth Federal Holiday and the NASA facility being closed. The new location and time are:
Greenbelt Main Post Office parking lot
7600 Ora Glen Dr.
Greenbelt, MD 20770
June 18, 2021 at 11:15 a.m.
Updated May 20th from the Postal Bulletin:
On June 18, 2021 in Greenbelt, MD, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Sun Science stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 480800). The stamps will go on sale nationwide June 18, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
The Sun Science stamps highlight stunning images of the Sun that celebrate the science behind the ongoing exploration of our nearest star. The striking colors do not represent the actual colors of the Sun as perceived by human eyesight. Instead, each image is colorized by NASA according to different wavelengths that reveal or highlight specific features of the Sun’s activity. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with digital images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft launched in February 2010 to keep a constant watch on the Sun from geosynchronous orbit over its ground station in New Mexico.
No automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Sun Science Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by October 18, 2021.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Sun Science Stamps
Item Number: 480800
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (10 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: June 18, 2021, Greenbelt MD 20770
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria VA
Existing Art: NASA/Solar Dynamic Observatory
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Flexographic, Foil Stamping
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 30,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 1.085 x 1.085 in. / 27.559 x 27.559 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.225 x 1.225 in. / 31.115 x 31.115 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.12 x 6.25 in. / 180.848 x 158.750 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 21.360 x 12.500 in. / 542.544 x 317.500 mm
Plate Size: 120 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by four (4) single digits in bottom two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Sun Science • Plate number in bottom two corners
Back: ©2021 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (480800) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text
Also updated May 20th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: 
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.98″ x 1.47″ 
The pictorial postmark measures 2.75″ x 1.14″
Updated March 17th:
These stamps will be issued June 18th, rain or shine, with a first-day city of Greenbelt, MD.
And still no John Glenn stamp announced. Pathetic
18 June Greenbelt MD
USPS# 4808xx #06 (6) $66.00 #08 (6) $66.00 #16 (10) $9.90 #21 (10) $17.00
From USA Philatelic 3rd Quarter 480806 still available, #08 sold out…
Yet another example of ” dune country stamps” being issued in units of 1o stamps. Will we soon reach 300 stamp issues per year.? In the 1930’s,40’s & 50’s it was typhical for the USPS to issue 60 stamps per year. What is the real significance of this stamp issue?
The real significance?
Perhaps the significance is to educate people about astronomy, the sun, light waves, solar activity, etc. These are important subjects that matter to the earth and its population of flora and fauna. Perhaps the significance is to inspire a future scientist that might help us understand and live with the universe.
It’s pretty big picture stuff all contained in the tiny space of 10 little stamps.
I’m 100% agree with you. Still, we just had a set of Planets issued in 2016, 8 + 2 (dedicated to Pluto). We also had issued a set of 10 in 1991. The thing is, is that while I don’t mind stamps on non standard topics, (for me, for example, an ideal every year issues will be sports, holidays, flora and fauna as well as many as 10 famous people). A little bit of astronomy issues are fine as well as issues dedicated to the soldiers (unfortunately, the latter don’t come out anymore).
I’m still waiting for the USPS to issue a Distinguished Airmen stamp issue.
Still no Fred & Ginger stamp!
I need to remind you that in the 40s and 50s the population of the United States was not on the level it is today. 80 years ago we fought in WWII and lost some of our servicemen and women on the frontlines. The population started booming again in 1960s. I actually was surprised, as a non-American, how much less stamps being issued by one of the three largest nations with population of over 368 million. India and Nigeria have more people per capita but they make less stamps. That’s understandable because mail doesn’t go there quite often. Now, United States population is twice the size that of Russia, and yet, the Russians make over a hundred stamps a year. We had down times between 1992 and 2008, but we rebounded. United States have a lot more to tell, but it’s recent philately covered with useless holiday stamps.
A couple of points: The U.S. population began booming right after World War II. The “Baby Boom” ran from 1946 to 1964. There was a big dropoff in the birthrate between 1964 and 1965.
Second, most serious stamp collectors avoid the stamps of the Soviet Union, because most were never available for mail use and were intended for collectors. In fact, they came with preprinted cancellations. I don’t know how the Russian Federation’s stamp-issuance policies compare to the Soviet Union’s.
As for the Soviet Union’s policies vs Russian Federation’s: I for one, received an envelope with a canceled New Year’s and 2002 Olympics commemorative stamps. I also received couple of letters from RF with blocks of stamps (you know, the one which have a stamp in the middle), with real cancellation. Not to mention that I bought some commemoratives in Russian post offices, such as a whole sheet dedicated to the FIFA Russia 2018 in 2016, the Heroes of the Russian Federation, and 75th anniversary of WWII. So long story short, we don’t sell only definitives in the post offices as we used to in the Soviet era.
I have many USSR stamps without cancelation of any kind. I mostly buy mint. I maybe wont call myself a serious collector, but then this site have many people who collect Christmas stamps. I for one, find collecting special stamps as mundane, designed for people who are retired and due to age gap, lack in knowledge of anything other than holiday traditions.
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