NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – The main mirror for NASA’s new airborne eye on the universe is now ready for installation after being transformed from a carefully shaped and polished piece of glass into a highly reflective optical component at Ames Research Center.

After years of development and preparation, it took just 20 seconds to apply the shiny, aluminum coating to the glass mirror for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The telescope is scheduled to begin observations in mid-2009.

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	Left: SOFIA's primary mirror inside its lift-support framework, prior to receiving its reflective aluminum coating on June 20, 2008. The honeycomb pattern visible through the mirror shows cavities scooped out of the back of the mirror to reduce its weight while leaving it strong enough to resist flexing during operation. The white board is the end of a temporary plug in the mirror's central hole. The mirror is 2.7 meters (106 inches) in diameter; the central 2.5 meters (98 inches) will be used during scientific observations. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Dominic Hart Click on the image for full-resolution.
	Left: View from below of SOFIA's primary mirror inside its lift-support framework, prior to aluminum coating. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Dominic Hart Click on the image for full-resolution.
	Left: View of the mirror coating chamber's floor through a porthole in the chamber's side. The electrical filaments that melt the aluminum wires to coat the mirror are arranged around the outside of the circular plate. For the coating process, the mirror is suspended face-down at the roof of the chamber and the chamber's air removed. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Eric James Click on the image for full-resolution.
	Left: Technicians in clean-room suits inspecting the mirror installed in the roof of the mirror coating chamber prior to coating. The circular plate placed in the center of the mirror at this stage holds test slides that will be coated along with the mirror, allowing convenient tests of the mirror coating quality. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Eric James Click on the image for full-resolution.
	Left: Technicians at NASA’s Ames Research Center inspect the main mirror for NASA’s new airborne eye on the universe, which is now ready for installation after being transformed from a carefully shaped and polished piece of glass into a highly reflective optical component. After years of development and preparation, it took just 20 seconds to apply the shiny, aluminum coating to the glass mirror for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).in a 10-ton, 16-foot -all stainless steel vacuum chamber. The telescope is scheduled to begin observations in mid-2009. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Eric James Click on the image for full-resolution.