NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for
Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, has passed a significant mission
milestone. It has completed the first phase of experimental flight
tests, which confirmed the structural integrity and performance of
the modified 747SP SOFIA aircraft that carries a huge infrared
telescope.
The telescope measures nearly 10 feet in width and weighs almost
19 tons. It peers through a 16-foot-high door cut into SOFIA's 747
fuselage. During this test series, the aircraft flew five times
with this external door closed. These flights tested the limits of
the aircraft's capabilities in many areas, including aerodynamics,
structural integrity, stability and control, and handling
qualities.
"SOFIA is already a technological marvel, and will soon be a
powerful tool for studying the birth and evolution of planets,
stars, and galaxies," said Alan Stern, associate administrator of
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington.
"The completion of its closed door testing phase is a major
milestone on the way to SOFIA's inaugural science flights next
year."
The SOFIA program also checked the functionality of the
aircraft's cutting edge, German-built telescope. Engineers tested
the ability of the instrument's control system to maintain its
precise position when tracking a celestial object, even while the
aircraft moves and maneuvers through the sky.
"The project finished a very important milestone on the path to
the first astronomy work with the telescope, which is expected in
early 2009," said Robert Meyer Jr., SOFIA program manager at NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
The aircraft now will undergo installation and integration of
the remaining elements of the observatory before open-door test
flights scheduled to begin in late 2008. After completing the
initial open-door test flight, limited science observation flights
will begin in 2009. The science community will survey the universe
with five specialized instruments on SOFIA as the observatory
begins normal science observation flights in 2011. The observatory
reaches full operational capabilities in 2014.
The SOFIA aircraft is based at Dryden's newly established
Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., where it will
remain for additional development, flight testing and science
flight operations. The program is a partnership of NASA and the
German Aerospace Center. Dryden manages the SOFIA program. NASA's
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the science
project.