Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > SOFIA > Photo # ED08-0296-40 |
Scientists carefully examine data being received during nighttime line operations testing of the SOFIA airborne observatory's 2.5-meter infrared telescope. |
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Photo Number: | ED08-0296-40 |
Photo Date: | November 12, 2008 |
Formats: |
640x543 JPEG Image (328 KBytes) 1280x1086 JPEG Image (1136 KBytes) 3000x2546 JPEG Image (6426 KBytes) |
Photo Description: |
Scientists carefully examine data being received during nighttime line operations testing of the SOFIA airborne observatory's 2.5-meter infrared telescope. |
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 # ED08-0296-40 |
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Last Modified: November 18, 2008 |