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SOFIA

The Lowell Observatory's High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation rests on its dolly in the lab prior to installation on the SOFIA airborne observatory.

 
Photo Number: ED08-0297-04
Photo Date: November 12, 2008
 
Formats: 640x577 JPEG Image (253 KBytes)
1280x1154 JPEG Image (788 KBytes)
3000x2705 JPEG Image (3948 KBytes)
 
Photo
Description:
The Lowell Observatory's High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation (HIPO) rests on its dolly in the lab prior to installation on the SOFIA airborne observatory.
 
Project
Description:
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is being developed as a world-class observatory complementing the Hubble Space Telescope. The observatory, which features a German-built 98.4-inch (2.5 meter) diameter infrared telescope weighing 20 metric tons mounted in a highly-modified Boeing 747SP aircraft, has begun its flight test phase in a joint program by NASA and DLR Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center). Major aircraft modifications and installation of the telescope was performed by L-3 Communications Integrated Systems facility at Waco, Texas. Systems integration and flight test operations are being conducted at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. SOFIA's science and mission operations are managed jointly by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI), and are based at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field near San Jose, Calif. Once operational, SOFIA will be the world's primary infrared observatory during a mission lasting up to 20 years, as well as an outstanding laboratory for developing and testing instrumentation and detector technology.
 
NASA Photo by: Tom Tschida
 
Keywords: SOFIA, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, 747SP aircraft, German-built infrared telescope, Lowell Observatory, High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation, HIPO, Dryden Flight Operations Facility, Palmdale, Calif., Polaris, North Star, Clipper Lindbergh, German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter infrared telescope, 20 tons, highly-modified Boeing 747SP aircraft, DLR Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, Universities Space Research Association, USRA, Deutsches SOFIA Institut, DSI
 


Last Modified: November 18, 2008
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