The Helios program and the sun
Abstract
Helios A and B are the first two missions inside the orbit of the Mercury towards the sun. They were launched from Cape Kennedy December 10, 1974 and January 15, 1976 respectively. The interplanetary cruise in the ecliptic plane carried the Helios Solar Probes in an ecliptical orbit around the sun to perihelions as close as 0.31 (Helios A) and 0.29 (Helios B) Astronomical Units to the sun. In this technical paper the scientific mission and German and American plans and design versus accomplished mission are presented by the German and United States Project Managers and the Mission Operations Manager. A brief outline of the scope of the project, spacecraft and experiments development, integration and test programs is given. Engineering and system performance results from the Helios A and B flights, which succeeded in passing closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft, are presented. Some of the preliminary scientific findings of the ten active and two passive experiments of this ambitious German/United States cooperative project are outlined.
- Publication:
-
Anaheim International Astronautical Federation Congress
- Pub Date:
- October 1976
- Bibcode:
- 1976anah.iafcR....O
- Keywords:
-
- Helios Project;
- Interplanetary Trajectories;
- Mercury (Planet);
- Mission Planning;
- Solar Probes;
- Ecliptic;
- Helios A;
- Helios B;
- Perihelions;
- Space Exploration;
- Space Vehicle Checkout Program;
- Spacecraft Launching;
- Launch Vehicles and Space Vehicles