How is NASA Sofia?

Hello,

How is commissioning going on NASA's Sofia mission? Is it possible to
look at any of the commissioning images?

Closed door flights were completed in early 2008. The performance of
the gyroscope unit on the telescope's assembly system was tested
during nighttime work in June 2009. Other system-level software
changes were made after similar evaluations with HIPO. Flights from
September 2009 compared the Fast Diagnostic Camera and the Focal Plane
Imager, and during a week of nighttime test operations in November
2008, technicians and scientists obtained experience with the
telescope while testing a number of functions, including star
tracking. Following this, the High-speed Imaging Photometer for
Occultation, or HIPO, was installed to support a study of the
telescope's optical performance.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SO...date_9_29.html

And according to a news release last month SOFIA is set to begin
science operations in 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news177874574.html
But that's ten years later than originally planned, it was originally
scheduled to start operations in the year 2000. Have there been
significant problems with the commissioning (eg. due to wind and
aircraft vibrations)?

One further question. According to:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/astrolist.html
Sofia's wavelength range will be huge, but news reports are saying
that the wavelength range will be similar to that of WISE and the
James Webb. Is the huge wavelength band from 0.2 microns to 1000
microns realistic?

In article ,
" writes:
How is commissioning going on NASA's Sofia mission? Is it possible to
look at any of the commissioning images?

The January AAS meeting will have a session on science plans for
SOFIA.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SO...date_9_29.html

There's a more recent update at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SO..._12_09_09.html

And according to a news release last month SOFIA is set to begin
science operations in 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news177874574.html
But that's ten years later than originally planned, it was originally
scheduled to start operations in the year 2000. Have there been
significant problems with the commissioning (eg. due to wind and
aircraft vibrations)?

There were a number of problems, not the least being concern that the
aircraft structure had been compromised by cutting the hole for the
telescope. Part of the solution was more computer analysis and a
longer flight testing program than originally planned; I don't know
whether structural modifications were made or not. However, as you
might infer, a ten-year delay is unlikely to be caused by a single
problem.

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Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

An email to the SOFIA mailing list sent out on Friday Dec 18 said:

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA,
achieved a major milestone on Dec. 18, 2009, when the aircraft's
telescope cavity door was fully opened for the first time in flight.
This test originated from the Dryden Aircraft Operating Facility at
Palmdale, Calif., and enabled SOFIA's engineers to understand how
airflows interact in and around the telescope.

"Today we opened the telescope cavity door, the first time we have fully
exposed the telescope and the largest cavity ever flown while in
flight," said Bob Meyer, SOFIA program manager at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center in Edwards, Calif. "This is a significant step toward
certifying NASA's next great observatory for future study of the universe."

The next phase of testing for the flying observatory will see two
flights in spring 2010 to verify the scientific capabilities of the
telescope assembly. The vibration isolation system, the inertial
stabilization system, and the pointing control system will be tested
during daytime flights. These tests will lead to the "first light"
flight planned for spring 2010. The "first light" flight will be the
initial opportunity scientists have to use the telescope and it begins
the process of quantifying SOFIA for its planned 20-year science program.

Links to still photos and video of the open door test flights can be
seen at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/index.html

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Help keep our newsgroup healthy; please don't feed the trolls.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA