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Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

Airborne observatoriesAstronomy in New ZealandBoeing 747Individual aircraftInfrared telescopes
NASA aircraftNASA programsUse mdy dates from June 2023
SOFIA ED10 0182 01 full
SOFIA ED10 0182 01 full

The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was a 80/20 joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. 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 (USRA) in 1996. The DSI (German SOFIA Institute; German: Deutsches SOFIA Institut) managed the German parts of the project which were primarily science-and telescope-related. SOFIA's telescope saw first light on May 26, 2010. SOFIA was the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. During 10-hour, overnight flights, it observed celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets, nebulae, and the Galactic Center. Science flights have now concluded, after the landing of the 921st and last flight in the early morning of September 29, 2022. The project will continue to work with legacy data for a few years. On December 8, 2022, NASA announced that both SOFIA and the Boeing 747SP used to carry the telescope will be preserved and put on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
Orchard Road, Christchurch Harewood (Fendalton-Waimari-Harewood Community)

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N -43.489444444444 ° E 172.53222222222 °
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Christchurch International Airport

Orchard Road
8053 Christchurch, Harewood (Fendalton-Waimari-Harewood Community)
Canterbury, New Zealand
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SOFIA ED10 0182 01 full
SOFIA ED10 0182 01 full
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