Page 4 - Aerotech News and Review, September 4, 2020

SOFIA returns to flight studying galaxies

NASA’s flying observatory, the stand how stars are born, the team
Stratospheric Observatory for Infra- will examine how magnetic fields af-
red Astronomy, has returned to sci- fect the celestial clouds that incubate
ence operations with a new series of natal stars.
flights designed to study the chemis- In June, SOFIA’s annual deploy-
try of galaxies. ment to Christchurch, New Zealand,
SOFIA flights were suspended on was deemed not feasible given ongo-
March 19 in response to the COV- ing concerns related to the pandemic.
ID-19 pandemic. With the resumption Instead a new schedule was coordi-
of flights out of SOFIA’s base at NA- nated to take advantage of observ-
SA’s Armstrong Flight Research Cen- ing opportunities from California.
ter in Palmdale, Calif., new proce- New safety procedures are designed
dures are in place to ensure the health to meet NASA and Federal Aviation
and safety of staff while enabling the Administration requirements for safe-
observations of celestial targets vis- ty and return to on-site work. New
ible from the Northern Hemisphere. procedures include flying a mini-
SOFIA started by flying two flights mal number of mission crew, social
beginning Aug. 17, to allow the team distancing and personal protective
time to evaluate and adjust the new equipment for staff, and extra sani-
procedures, and now plans to return tation of the aircraft during and in-
to its regular observing schedule with
about four flights each week. between flights.
“We are so thrilled to begin obser- SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner
vations again and very thankful to the modified to carry a 106-inch diam-
scientists, operations staff and pilots eter telescope. It is a joint project
who are returning us to flight,” said of NASA and the German Aerospace
Margaret Meixner, SOFIA’s science Center, DLR. NASA’s Ames Re-
mission operations director at the search Center in California’s Sili-
Universities Space Research Associa- con Valley manages the SOFIA pro-
tion. “In this flight series, SOFIA is gram, science and mission operations
studying the chemistry that influences in cooperation with the Universities
the creation and evolution of galax- Space Research Association head-
ies across cosmic history. We cannot quartered in Columbia, Md., and the
wait to see the data.” German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the NASA photograph
The team will explore distant gal- University of Stuttgart. The aircraft
axies to learn how black holes control is maintained and operated from NA- SOFIA takes off from Palmdale, Calif. NASA’s flying observatory, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy,
has returned to science operations with a new series of flights designed to study the chemistry of galaxies.
the galaxies’ growth and how quickly SA’s Armstrong Flight Research Cen-
stars form in them. To further under- ter Hangar 703.

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