Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > SOFIA > Photo # ED08-0296-14 |
The SOFIA airborne observatory's 2.5-meter infrared telescope peers out from its cavity in the SOFIA rear fuselage during nighttime line operations testing. |
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Photo Number: | ED08-0296-14 |
Photo Date: | November 12, 2008 |
Formats: |
394x640 JPEG Image (220 KBytes) 788x1280 JPEG Image (639 KBytes) 1848x3000 JPEG Image (2844 KBytes) |
Photo Description: |
The SOFIA airborne observatory's 2.5-meter infrared telescope peers out from its cavity in the SOFIA rear fuselage during nighttime line operations testing. |
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, Dryden Flight Operations Facility, Palmdale, Calif., nighttime line operations, 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 |
Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > SOFIA > Photo # ED08-0296-14 |
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Last Modified: November 18, 2008 |