Success for SOFIA

NASA announced recently that its

(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 infrared telescope-carrying 747SP aircraft.

The telescope, which measures nearly 10 feet (3.048m) in width and weighs almost 19 tons (17.23M/T), is able to make observations through a large 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 areas including aerodynamics, structural integrity, stability and control, and handling.

‘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.’