Astronomers for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, program recently conducted five nights of telescope testing
NASA FACT
In 1800, Sir William Herschel discovered an invisible form of radiation just beyond the red portion of the visible spectrum. He named this form of radiation infrared ("below" red).
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Astronomers Assess SOFIA Telescope Systems
NASA Science Aircraft Get New Home
 "Several NASA science aircraft occupied the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility")
Earth and space science aircraft fit nicely into Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility.
SOFIA Science Mission Operations Director Selected
Erick Young, a widely recognized authority on infrared astronomy, has been appointed science mission operations director for NASA's Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.
Overview
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
Image above: NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, lifted off from Edwards Air Force Base at mid-day Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007 on the first in a series of flight tests intended to verify the flight performance of the highly modified Boeing 747SP to its design capability. NASA photo / Tony Landis
NASA is developing the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - or SOFIA - as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes and major Earth-based telescopes. SOFIA features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter far-infrared telescope weighing 20 tons mounted in the rear fuselage of a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. It is one of the premier space science programs of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
> Read More
> SOFIA News Release
> View Podcast
> Infrared Astronomy
Image above: NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, lifted off from Edwards Air Force Base at mid-day Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007 on the first in a series of flight tests intended to verify the flight performance of the highly modified Boeing 747SP to its design capability. NASA photo / Tony Landis NASA is developing the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - or SOFIA - as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes and major Earth-based telescopes. SOFIA features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter far-infrared telescope weighing 20 tons mounted in the rear fuselage of a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. It is one of the premier space science programs of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
> Read More
> SOFIA News Release
> View Podcast
> Infrared Astronomy
Mission News
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HIPO Photometer Installed on SOFIA Telescope
The High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation, or HIPO, instrument was installed on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy telescope Nov. 17.
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Scientists Selected for New Airborne Eye on the Universe
Three astronomers to participate in first scientific observations to be conducted by the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
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NASA Reinstalls Main Mirror in SOFIA Airborne Observatory
Engineers and technicians from NASA, the German Space Agency and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut recently reinstalled the German-built primary mirror assembly into NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, airborne observatory.
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 "SOFIA update")
Spotlight
Sensational SOFIA
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA arrived at Dryden this summer, marking a transition from significant modification of the aircraft to accommodate the largest airborne telescope to the start of flight tests, completion of subsystems integration and, eventually, to the task of exploring the heavens.
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