The mount includes a system of bearings in pressurized oil to isolate the instrument from vibration. One of the most challenging problems is keeping the aircraft steady while flying with a 20-ton telescope in a huge cavity in the rear of the plane that is opened to the sky.To help ensure a successful modification, design and engineering solutions were tested on a mock-up prior to work on the actual aircraft.Now you can print your own 3D model of SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. Spanning more than 600 light-years, the panorama reveals...New observations from SOFIA are shedding light on how spiral-shaped galaxies, like our own Milky Way, get their iconic shape.A new study reveals that the water in many comets may share a common origin with Earth’s oceans, reinforcing the idea that comets played a key role in bringing water to our planet billions of years ago.Scientists thought they found clues pointing to a collision between two exoplanets ten years ago. SOFIA's telescope saw Since 2011, SOFIA missions are chosen amongst several proposals. It was subsequently flown to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for continued flight testing, and was rededicated on May 21, 2007, by Erik Lindbergh (Charles Lindbergh's grandson).On January 14, 2007, at the end of its closed-door flight testing, SOFIA briefly visited Ames Research Center before continuing on to its permanent flight operations home at the new AFRC-operated Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF) in Palmdale, California.The observatory's flight envelope was established in a series of missions operating from the DAOF:The Boeing 747SP that is SOFIA underwent extensive modifications by L-3 Integrated Systems in Waco, Texas, from 1998 to 2007. Now you can print your own 3D model of SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a 2.7-meter telescope to study the solar system and beyond while flying up to 45,000 feet.NASA’s airborne telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, has a leadership team that includes five accomplished women making waves in space science and engineering.Ten years ago, NASA’s telescope on an airplane, SOFIA, first peered into the cosmos.
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is an 80/20 joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. SOFIA sat on the tarmac during night-time telescope operations. With the help of the staff of the NASA Ames SpaceShop Rapid Prototyping Facility, the SOFIA mission team created an eight-piece, 3D-printable model of the modified 747SP aircraft, its telescope and cabin.The printable files are at a 1/200 scale, with a removable upper fuselage section to reveal interior details, including the flying mission control center in the cabin, interchangeable science instruments and both open- and closed-telescope door configurations. FIFI-LS Spectrometer Prepared for SOFIA Missions . Once ready for use, observing flights were expected to be flown three or four nights a week. Mercury Redstone Model in 1/72 Scale NASA modified a Redstone missile and created a 25.5m-long manned space launch... Mercury Atlas Model in 1/72 scale. Successful missions are scheduled according to yearly cycles, with the first cycle corresponding to 2013.
The telescope was designed to be very lightweight, with a honeycomb shape milled into the back of the mirror and polymer composite material used for the telescope assembly.
NASA awarded the contract for the development of the aircraft, operation of the observatory and management of the American part of the project to the Universities Space Research Association in 1996.
This image was released July 18, 2013.
Originally scheduled to be operational for 20 years, in its tentative budget for the fiscal year 2015The telescope looks out of a large door in the port side of the The open cavity housing the telescope will be exposed to high-speed turbulent winds. The telescope is mounted in the aft end of the fuselage behind a pressurized bulkhead.
The first flight of this aircraft was on April 25, 1977 and Boeing delivered the aircraft to Commencing work in 1998, Raytheon designed and installed a 5.5 m (18 ft) tall (arc length) by 4.1 m (13.5 ft) wide door in the aft left side of the aircraft's fuselage that can be opened in-flight to give the telescope access to the sky.
Print Your Own 3D SOFIA Model.
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May 19, 2020 - The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a 2.7-meter telescope to study the solar system and beyond while flying up to 45,000 feet. In 2013, Space Center Houston announced plans to display SCA 905 with the mockup shuttle Independence mounted on its …