 |
| Four ‘Star Trek’ stamps that will be released to commemorate the franchise’s 50th anniversary in 2016. Credit: © 2016 USPS |
Set phasers to mail! With space as much a “final frontier” today for “Star Trek” fans as it was in 1966, a new set of stamps will commemorate the sci-fi franchise’s 50th anniversary.
According to the U.S. Postal Service, the four stamps are supposed to be inspired by “classic elements” of the first television series of the “Star Trek” franchise , which aired between 1966 and 1969. The show followed the exploits of the USS Enterprise and its crew, helmed by Capt. James T. Kirk. Its goal was to fulfill a five-year mission by looking for new civilizations and new worlds, and by boldly going “where no man has gone before.”
The four new stamps will include the following:
- The Starship Enterprise inside the insignia of Starfleet, the organization that explores the universe in “Star Trek,” against a yellow background;
- A crewmember’s silhouette inside a transporter , which beamed people to and from the surface of alien planets. (It also was the origin of the famous phrase, “Beam me up, Scotty” — a famous misquotation of a command Kirk periodically gave to his chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, when he wanted to come back to Enterprise.) The silhouette is set against a red background;
- The Enterprise seen from above, silhouetted against green; and
- The Enterprise seen inside the outline of a Vulcan hand salute , most famously shown by the alien Spock along with the line, “Live long and prosper.” This is set against a blue background.
“The words ‘SPACE… THE FINAL FRONTIER,’ from Kirk’s famous voiceover, appear beneath the stamps against a background of stars,” the U.S. Postal Service added in a statement. “The stamps were designed by Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá.”
This year, “Star Trek Beyond” will be released in theaters; the film stars the same rebooted “Original Series” cast that has made several film appearances since 2009.
“Star Trek” is one of several space-themed stamps that the USPS will release in 2016 . The USPS also will send out “Views of Our Planets” showing full-disc views of the eight planets in our solar system, and a commemorative stamp showing the disc of Pluto, first visited in 2015 by New Horizons.
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .
Comments are closed.