Thermal control Launch configuration diagram Silver-zinc batteries were used only during launch. The power supplied by the solar panels is a minimum of 240 watts when the probe is at aphelion. To keep the solar panels at a temperature below 165 ☌ (329 ☏) when in proximity to the Sun, the solar cells are interspersed with mirrors, covering 50% of the surface and reflecting part of the incident sunlight while dissipating the excess heat. The spacecraft spin around their axes, which are perpendicular to the ecliptic, at 60 rpm.Įlectrical power is provided by solar cells attached to the two truncated cones. Also deployed were two rigid booms carrying sensors and magnetometers, attached on both sides of the central bodies, and two flexible antennae used for the detection of radio waves, which extended perpendicular to the axes of the spacecraft for a design length of 16 metres (52 ft) each. Once in orbit, the telecommunications antennae unfolded on top of the probes and increased the heights to 4.2 metres (14 ft). Two conical solar panels extend above and below the central body, giving the assembly the appearance of a diabolo or spool of thread.Īt launch, each probe was 2.12 metres (6 ft 11 in) tall with a maximum diameter of 2.77 metres (9 ft 1 in). The exceptions are the masts and antennae used during experiments and small telescopes that measure the zodiacal light and emerge from the central body. Most of the equipment and instrumentation is mounted in this central body. The central bodies are sixteen-sided prisms 1.75 metres (5 ft 9 in) in diameter and 0.55 metres (1 ft 10 in) high. Their scientific payloads have a mass of 73.2 kilograms (161 lb) on Helios-A and 76.5 kilograms (169 lb) on Helios-B. Helios-A has a mass of 370 kilograms (820 lb), and Helios-B has a mass of 376.5 kilograms (830 lb). As built by the main contractor, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, they were the first space probes built outside the United States and the Soviet Union to leave Earth orbit. The Helios project was a joint venture of West Germany's space agency DLR (70 percent share) and NASA (30 percent share). The probes are no longer functional, but as of 2023 remain in elliptical orbits around the Sun. Helios-B performed the closest flyby of the Sun of any spacecraft until that time. The Helios project set a maximum speed record for spacecraft of 252,792 km/h (157,078 mph 70,220 m/s). As a joint venture between German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA, the probes were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on December 10, 1974, and January 15, 1976, respectively. Helios-A and Helios-B (after launch renamed Helios 1 and Helios 2) are a pair of probes that were launched into heliocentric orbit to study solar processes.
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