The high-tech German-built infrared telescope and its associated lower flexible telescope cavity door are rotated upward to their maximum 58-degree vertical position.
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
ED10-0213-04
The high-tech German-built infrared telescope and its associated lower flexible telescope cavity door are rotated upward to their maximum 58-degree vertical position in this photo taken during the last flight in the SOFIA observatory’s flight envelope-expansion test series. The pilot in a NASA F/A-18 keeps a close watch on the airborne observatory while flying in close formation during the tests.August 4, 2010
(NASA photo / Carla Thomas)