![]() ![]() Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. The Helios Prototype flying wing is shown moments after takeoff, beginning its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.ĭryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > Helios > Photo # ED01-0209-1 Just for completing a bit more this topic.Ī Spanish cover cancelled in Madrid where tracking for Helios B launch was operated.Helios ED01-0209-1: The Helios Prototype flying wing is shown moments after takeoff, beginning its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. The official NASA Helios cachets were discussed and shown back in 2010 in SCOTW 64 and good to see this very interesting topic continue. Thanks for showing us these additional Helios covers and cachets, Ken, and also for providing such interesting information about the Helios probes. While both spacecrafts were no longer functional after 1985/86, they still remain in their elliptical orbits around the sun. Over a 10-year period both deep space probes collected important data and made new observations about the solar wind and of the particles that make up the interplanetary medium and cosmic rays. and Soviet Union at the time, set a maximum speed record among spacecrafts at 157,078 mph (Helios-2) in April 1976 and were the closest to fly near the sun. The twin solar probes, the first probes built outside the U.S. Helios-involved personnel by the German workers when preparing the twin probes for launch here at the Cape. About 500 of them were distributed to U.S. The printed covers were mainly provided by MBB and their partner DFVR company of the West German space agency. It's a cover issue of MBB, the spacecraft builders in West Germany at the time, for the Helios-B launch. The blue rubber stamped cover was mainly provided by a German aerospace company along with the American ITT firm, both working together on the Helios project, in creating their own "official" contractor cover.Īnother "official-type" cover would be the colorful Helios emblem cachet. But there is another story to be told about the Helios cachet affair at Kennedy, perhaps though, it could be shared at a later time. If so, my apologies to Bob for bringing up the topic again. I believe regular contributor Bob McLeod may have already ran a SCOTW column or feature about the official Helios cachet affair. The special rubber stamp cachet release was not publicly announced by NASA's Mail and Distribution Services in advance, therefore, the incident did cause a space agency or federal investigation concerning certain philatelic practices here at Kennedy Space Center. Only 1400 of them were processed at the KSC HQS Bldg. Three of the depicted covers with the black rubber stamp "HELIOS" impression are from KSC-NASA and considered official NASA cachets. 10, 1974, more than 13 months before the Helios-2 launch. ![]() It was indeed an exciting place to be here on the Florida Space Coast in being able to witness and report on many historical space feats during NASA's second golden decade- era of the 1970's.īelow are "official-type" covers in some way or another for both the Helios flights, with the first launch of Helios-1 on Dec. The Helios/Titan 3E launches from the Cape in 1974/76 were some of my first news media assignments as a teenage rookie space reporter. Good to see, John, the SCOTW feature about Helios-2. Baleares - SPAINĪ cover issued by JPL stamp club pmk in Pasadena and signed by Dr. The Goddard Space Flight Center Stamp Club serviced 800 covers for this mission and sold out. Helios Project Manager, Gilbert Ousley Assistant Program Managers, Charles White and William Witt and Project Scientist, James Trainor. The cover shown above was autographed by U.S. experiments and other support for a total of about $80 million. The United States paid for the two launch vehicles and their support, tracking and data acquisition services, the three U.S. Germany provided seven experiments plus command and data acquisition costs for the German ground stations. Germany paid all spacecraft costs, which included the price of two flight units, a prototype and thermal, structural and engineering models. The cost of two Helios missions including spacecraft and launch vehicles was about $180 million. The Helios Project was a joint project with Germany. This week's Space Cover commemorates the launch of the HELIOS-B spacecraft aboard Titan Centaur launch vehicle #5 on January 15, 1976. Space Cover of the Week, Week 419, May 27, 2017 Profile | register | preferences | faq | search Space Cover 419: Helios-B Launch - collectSPACE: Messages ![]()
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