Sofia

I just came across this and thought you guys might be interested. NASA is converting a retired United 747SP to hold a 2.7 meter telescope. It's going to replace the C-141A Kuiper Airborne Observatory that they retired. As of January the 747 SOFIA aircraft was still undergoing modifications. It will be operated by Evergreen Aviation out of the Dryden Research Center.

The SOFIA Boeing 747SP

The SOFIA aircraft is a Boeing 747SP with a distinguished history. It was originally acquired by Pan American World Airways and was delivered in May of 1977. The "SP" designates that this is a special short-body version of the 747, designed for longer flights than the basic model.

Although Pan Am typically named its aircraft after famous clipper ships, they gave this aircraft a special name - the Clipper Lindbergh - in honor of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh's widow, Ann Morrow Lindbergh, personally christened the aircraft and officially placed it into service on May 6th, 1977-the 50th anniversary of his history-making first solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927.

In February 1986, United Airlines purchased the plane. United removed it from active service in December 1995, and it was purchased by NASA in 1997. The aircraft is being heavily modified for its new role as a flying astronomical observatory by L-3 Communications Integrated Systems of Waco, Texas. To ensure proper modification, a dismantled section from another 747SP is being used as a full-size mock-up.

Like most modern research telescopes, the SOFIA telescope uses a mirror to concentrate and focus the incoming light. When it comes to large telescopes, mirror-based systems (called "reflectors") have proven to be much more practical than lens-based telescopes (called "refractors") because they are much easier and less expensive to build and use.

SOFIA’s primary mirror, located near the bottom of the telescope, is 2.7 meters (almost 9 feet) across. The front surface, which is highly polished and then coated with Aluminum to ensure maximum reflectivity, is deeply concave (dished inward). Incoming light rays bounce off the curved surface and are all deflected inward at the same time they are reflected back up toward the front of the telescope.

www.sofia.usra.edu...

Will it be looking up or down?

Up. It's replacing the C-141A that NASA used to fly that had a 16" infrared telescope that looked UP.

Interesting name for an Aircraft!
Hi Zaph,

I dont know much about aircrafts and such, but when I saw the name 'Sofia' I thought I would post my thoughts!
Why was the name ''Sofia'' given?
Just curious as to why it was named that?
In Greek, it means Wisdom.
hmm, sorry to go religious here, but......
In prophecy Sofia is the Cathedral that is in Constantinople.(Istanbul)
The Sofia Cathedral is one of the Signs of the coming of the Antichrist....

Take care,
helen

Sorry helen, but it's nothing so profound. They just didn't want to be saying Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy all the time, so they shortened it to SOFIA.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Sorry helen, but it's nothing so profound.

They just didn't want to be saying Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy all the time, so they shortened it to SOFIA.

Zaph!
Are you laughing at me!

Anyway.......apart from me making a fool of myself in this 'aircraft' thread of yours, It actually may be not all what it seems!
Dont you think?
Or am I just heading for more
Well, at least it's a nice name!
Take care
helen

There's nothing to be sorry about, you didn't make a fool of yourself. I was laughing because usually the flying observatories are named after people. After your post I started looking and expected to find something more profound than just a long name they shortened. Believe me helen, I've asked many dumb over the years, and your theory wasn't one of them.

SOFIA first flight was scrubbed today in Waco, Texas, due to high crosswinds. It is rescheduled for tomorrow.

There will be several functional check flights before the airplane goes to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. It will probably be a few years before any science missions take place.

Cool. Thanks Shadowhawk. I found info from January but not much recently. It'll be interesting to see the pics they get with this bird. I remember when the C-141 used to go through Hickam. That was a neat bird.

SOFIA successfully completed its initial low-speed, low-altitude functional check flight. You can read the details here:

www.nasa.gov...

Great pictures there. I like the publishable ones. Those are nice pictures. I'd love to see what they see through the telescope.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747-SP-21 (N747NA) arrived at DFRC on 31 May 2007. The airplane bears the name "Clipper Lindbergh."

Look for pictures to be posted soon on the NASA Dryden web site.

Very cool! Thanks for the update Shadowhawk. I can't wait to see pics of her out there.