SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK: VOLUME III
PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS 1969-1978

 

Table 3-95. Helios 1 Characteristics

 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

between NASA and Bundesminister fur Wissenschaftliche Forschung (Federal Rep. of Germany), June 10, 1969

Date of launch (range):

Dec. 10, 1974 (ETR)

Launch vehicle:

Titan-Centaur

Shape:

16-sided cylindrical central body with conical solar arrays attached at both ends

Weight (kg):

370

Dimensions (m):

1.75, diam. central compartment

0.55, height (2.12 with solar arrays; 4.2 with antenna mast)

2.77, largest diam. of solar arrays

Power source:

solar arrays plus Ag-Zn battery

Prime contractor:

Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm

Date of reentry:

N/A

NASA's role:

launch vehicle and technical support; participation in experiment program

Responsible NASA center:

GSFC

Project manager:

Gilbert W. Ousley

Project scientist:

James H. Trainor

Objectives:

To investigate the fundamental solar processes and solar terrestrial relationships by the study of phenomena such as solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays, and cosmic dust in the region between earth's orbit and about 0.3 AU from the sun.

Experiments (responsible country or organization):

.

plasma detection (Max-Planck-Institut)

flux gate magnetometer (Institut fur Geophysik und Meteorologic, TU Braunschweig)

search-coil magnetometer (Institut fur Nachrichtentechnik, TU Braunschwieg and Institute

fur Geophysik and Meteorologic, TU Braunschweig)

flux gate magnetometer (GSFC)

plasma and radio wave (Univ. of Iowa)

cosmic ray (Institut fur Reine und Angewandte Kernphysik, Universitat Kiel)

cosmic ray (GSFC)

electron detector (MPI)

zodiacal light photometer (Landessternwarte Heidelberg)

micrometeroid analyzer (MPI)

celestial mechanics (Institut fur Theoretische Physik, Universitat Hamburg)

Results:

Successful; first perihelion (0.309 AU) was reached on Mar. 15, 1975; some data still being received in late 1982.

Reference: MOR S-823-74-01, Dec. 6, 1974.


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