Inside NASAs SOFIA Airborne Astronomical Observatory

As the world s largest flying observatory, NASA s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is a unique spacescience asset. SOFIA incorporates a 19ton Germanbuilt telescope with an effective diameter of 2. 5 meters in a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that flies astronomical science missions at altitudes between 39, 000 and 45, 000 feet, above 99 percent of the infraredblocking water vapor in the atmosphere. Capable of conducting observations in visible through farinfrared spectra