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NASA Meatball SOFIA Photo Collection banner
 
SOFIA

Two USRA technicians at NASA Ames Research Center are reflected in the coated SOFIA telescope main mirror suspended above them in the mirror coating facility.

 
Photo Number: ED08-0153-1
Photo Date: June 2008
 
Formats: 640x589 JPEG Image (231 KBytes)
1280x1178 JPEG Image (715 KBytes)
3000x2760 JPEG Image (2759 KBytes)
 
Photo
Description:
Two University Space Research Association technicians laying on the floor of the mirror coating chamber at NASA Ames Research Center photographed themselves reflected in the perfectly coated SOFIA telescope main mirror suspended above them.
 
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: USRA/Patrick Waddell
 
Keywords: SOFIA, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, final finish coating, 747SP aircraft, German-built infrared telescope, 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: July 3, 2008
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