This section is a work in progress, but we start of with a photo given to Hartwigs father in law and colleagues, who worked on the Helios satellite during his time at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). The signed photo is from the crew of Apollo 15, Commander David Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin.
The Helios project was a joint
venture between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA.
Helios 1 and
Helios 2 were launched into a heliocentric orbit from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Florida, on December 10, 1974, and January 15, 1976,
respectively.
During their mission to study solar processes, the
Helios probes set a maximum speed record for spacecraft of 252,792 km/h
(157,078 mph; 70,220 m/s). They were the first space probes built
outside the United States and the Soviet Union to leave Earth orbit.
Today, the Helios probes are no longer operational and remain in
elliptical orbits around the Sun.
