Helios probes

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Image:Helios spacecraft.jpg Image:Titan 3E Centaur with Helios 1.jpg The Helios deep space probes were launched in the mid 1970s by the Federal Republic of Germany using NASA launch vehicles.

There were two in the series, Helios I and Helios II. They were launched to orbit and measure the Sun. They set a speed record for spacecraft at 252,792 km/h (70.2 km/s). They also set the record for closest approach to the Sun, at about 45 Gm (45 million kilometres), slightly inside the orbit of Mercury.

The name Helios has also been used for a NASA experimental aircraft, the Helios Prototype, and for a series of French military photo-reconnaissance satellites, Helios 1B & Helios 2A.

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