Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Putting IR telescopes on aircraft (started with Learjets and CV-990 in 1968, moved to C-141 in 1974-95 and on a 747 thereafter) was a smart idea before IRAS (1983) and even after.

The gist of the idea was a serviceable telescope (aircraft can land and recover, unmanned sats can't) with man on the loop and that could also be refilled with liquid helium at -268°C if needed.

IRAS Spitzer all died (or became half-blind) when the supply of helium taking the heat away (IR astronomy hates parasitic heat) boiled away after months or years.

Webb goes around the issue by cooling itself passively, plus SEL-2 location.

I often wonder if SOFIA was (or not) a bridge too far after KAO ? (Kuiper Airborne observatory, on the civilian C-141 Lockheed never sold, except to NASA).
 
That agreement was criticized in a May 3 statement by Deutsche SOFIA Institut (DSI), the German organization that handles operations of Germany’s share of SOFIA. DSI “distances itself from the justification for this decision,” complaining, as SOFIA’s American backers have previously said, that the decadal survey based its decision on old information and did not consider improvements intended to increase SOFIA’s efficiency.

Alfred Krabbe, head of DSI, said in the statement that he hopes Congress restores funding for SOFIA for at least one more year, adding that the James Webb Space Telescope cannot replace SOFIA since SOFIA operates at longer infrared wavelengths than what JWST can observe. Congress, he noted, has supported SOFIA in the past.
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spacenews.com

NASA defends decision to shut down SOFIA

NASA officials say they believe the latest effort to shut down an airborne observatory is more likely to be successful because of the endorsement of doing so by last year’s decadal survey.
spacenews.com spacenews.com
 
Flyaway said:
That agreement was criticized in a May 3 statement by Deutsche SOFIA Institut (DSI), the German organization that handles operations of Germany’s share of SOFIA. DSI “distances itself from the justification for this decision,” complaining, as SOFIA’s American backers have previously said, that the decadal survey based its decision on old information and did not consider improvements intended to increase SOFIA’s efficiency.

Alfred Krabbe, head of DSI, said in the statement that he hopes Congress restores funding for SOFIA for at least one more year, adding that the James Webb Space Telescope cannot replace SOFIA since SOFIA operates at longer infrared wavelengths than what JWST can observe. Congress, he noted, has supported SOFIA in the past.
Click to expand...
spacenews.com

NASA defends decision to shut down SOFIA

NASA officials say they believe the latest effort to shut down an airborne observatory is more likely to be successful because of the endorsement of doing so by last year’s decadal survey.
spacenews.com spacenews.com
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I hope that Congress release funding for one more year of SOFIA operations. Though I am surprised that the German government have not bought SOFIA and used it in conjunction with ESA.
 
The committee criticized, but did not reject, NASA’s plans to terminate the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with an infrared telescope, at the end of the current fiscal year in September. While appropriators said they were concerned about NASA’s decision to terminate SOFIA without a formal senior review, they only directed NASA to provide a report “on NASA’s strategy to mitigate the science and data collection that will no longer be produced by SOFIA.” It also provides $30 million to close out the SOFIA project, $20 million more than what NASA requested.
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spacenews.com

House appropriators partially restore funding for planetary defense mission - SpaceNews

House appropriators partially restored funding for a planetary defense mission as part of a spending bill for fiscal year 2023.
spacenews.com spacenews.com
 
SOFIA Adjusts Science Planning Following Damage to Aircraft

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is adjusting its science observation plans and canceling the remainder of its Southern Hemisphere deployment following damage to the aircraft caused by severe weather on Monday, July 18. SOFIA is currently operating out of Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand to better observe celestial objects in the southern skies.

The SOFIA team has determined the needed repairs will take at least three weeks, eliminating the possibility of conducting the remaining science observation flights that were planned from New Zealand through August 7.
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Aug 15: SOFIA Returns from New Zealand Deployment
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sofia/2022/08/15/sofia-returns-from-new-zealand-deployment/

Aug 26: SOFIA Finds More Water in the Moon’s Southern Hemisphere
Image caption: "The image shows flux data obtained by SOFIA’s FORCAST instrument overlaid on an orthographic projection of the Moon, creating a map of water abundances in the Moretus Crater region. Surface lunar features are clearly visible within the flux data. In this image, lighter colors correspond to a higher flux, and darker corresponds to a lower flux. Credit: Honniball et al. and Applied Coherent Technology Corp. The Moon reference image is constructed using the LRO-WAC albedo mosaic."
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sofia/2022/08/26/sofia-finds-more-water-in-the-moons-southern-hemisphere/
 
Flyaway said:
Aug 15: SOFIA Returns from New Zealand Deployment
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sofia/2022/08/15/sofia-returns-from-new-zealand-deployment/

Aug 26: SOFIA Finds More Water in the Moon’s Southern Hemisphere
Image caption: "The image shows flux data obtained by SOFIA’s FORCAST instrument overlaid on an orthographic projection of the Moon, creating a map of water abundances in the Moretus Crater region. Surface lunar features are clearly visible within the flux data. In this image, lighter colors correspond to a higher flux, and darker corresponds to a lower flux. Credit: Honniball et al. and Applied Coherent Technology Corp. The Moon reference image is constructed using the LRO-WAC albedo mosaic."
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sofia/2022/08/26/sofia-finds-more-water-in-the-moons-southern-hemisphere/
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So SOFIA did manage to get to New Zealand and get the final mission done, that is a relief. And it managed to find water in the Moons southern hemisphere as well during the mission. :cool:
 
Flyaway said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1574458685501444106
View: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1574458685501444106


The last SOFIA science flight is tonight, NASA’s Mark Clampin says at an Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Cmte meeting today, ahead of the end of the fiscal year Friday. An “orderly shutdown” of the project will take place, including disposition by the GSA of the Boeing 747.
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I cannot believe that tonight is the final mission of SOFIA.
 
Grey Havoc said:
science.slashdot.org

Sofia, the Historic Airplane-Borne Telescope, Lands For the Last Time - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Over the past eight years, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner has flown hundreds of flights on a unique mission: carrying a 19-ton, 2.5-meter telescope known as Sofia, or the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. Flying a telescope on a...
science.slashdot.org
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Sad Really sad, that was the final mission for SOFIA. I am certain that the Astronomical community will miss her.
 

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