SOFIA

A graphic image that represents the SOFIA mission

Full Name: Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

Phase: Development

Launch Date: TBD

Mission Project Home Page: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/index.html

Program(s): Cosmic Origins

SOFIA will be the largest airborne observatory in the world, and will make observations that are impossible for even the largest and highest of ground-based telescopes. NASA and the German space agency, DLR, are working together to create SOFIA - a Boeing 747-SP aircraft modified to accommodate a 2.5 meter gyro-stabilized telescope.

SOFIA will be based at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF) in southern California. SOFIA's science and mission operations center will be at NASA's Ames Research Center in northern California.

SOFIA will be used to study many different kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena, but some of the most interesting are:

  • Star birth and death
  • Formation of new solar systems
  • Identification of complex molecules in space
  • Planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system
  • Nebulae and dust in galaxies (or, Ecosystems of galaxies)
  • Black holes at the center of galaxies


Presently in development are the nine first light instruments, seven U.S. made and two German made. The instruments — cameras, spectrometers, and a photometer — operate in the near-, mid-, and far-infrared wavelengths. Some of the instruments are special purpose instruments that are better suited to studying a particular phenomena, while others are general purpose instruments capable of acquiring data from a broad range of astronomical objects.

Because of the ease with which SOFIA instruments can be changed as well as the hands-on nature of observing with SOFIA, SOFIA provides a unique platform for the demonstration of new observational techniques, the development of new instruments, and the education of young scientists and teachers in the discipline of infrared astronomy.

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