SOFIAJohn Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and a former space shuttle astronaut (center), was briefed by NASA...NASA SMD Chief John Grunsfeld Visits SOFIA Flying ObservatoryRadio image of the Milky Way galactic plane at a frequency of 2695 MHz.NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - SOFIA - lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., at...Retired NASA astronaut and test pilot Fred Haise was more than ready for some left-hand seat flying time when he...Twenty-six educators from the United States have been selected for research flights aboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or...Researchers using NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy capture infrared images of the last exhalations of a dying sun-like star.Ten followers of the popular Twitter social media website and NASA social media team members gathered in front of the...The cavernous interior of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility hangar is seen in this wide-angle image. Several of NASA's science...This mid-infrared image of the W3A star cluster in the inset was captured by the FORCAST camera on the SOFIA...This graphical representation from the SOFIA Science Center compares two infrared images of the heart of the Orion nebula.This mid-infrared image of the W40 star-forming region of the Milky Way galaxy was captured recently by the FORCAST instrument...USRA's SOFIA education and public outreach director Dana Backman explains the difference between visible and infrared light.San Jose high school science teacher Marita Beard discusses science education aboard the SOFIA.Visitors deplane from the SOFIA flying observatory during its weekend visit to NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.,...Using a model of its high-tech German-built telescope, SOFIA science mission operations director Erick Young of USRA outlines the capabilities...Ron Strong, a SOFIA telescope technician at NASA's Ames Research Center, explains elements of the infrared telescope carried aboard the...SOFIA Airborne Astronomy AmbassadorsVisitors are briefed on the operation of the telescope simulator with the High-Speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations, or HIPO, instrument...The NASA logo on Bldg. 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is reflected in the 2.5-meter...Alois Himmes, SOFIA program manager for the German Aerospace Center, is interviewed by a German television reporter near the flying...SOFIA science mission operations director Erick Young of the Universities Space Research Association is interviewed by Time Warner Cable News'...Cornell University's Terry Herter, principal investigator for the Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST), is interviewed by...SOFIA education and public outreach director Dana Backman of the Universities Space Research Association and the SETI Institute introduces teachers...Thomas Keilig, telescope assembly manager for German SOFIA Institute, points out features of the 100-inch primary mirror of the SOFIA...The NASA logo on Bldg. 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is reflected in the 2.5-meter...SOFIA, FORCAST Begin Basic Science Flight Series.The NASA-DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP dwarfs a ground crewman as it taxis to a stop on the...The SOFIA aircraft is bathed by water from Air Force Plant 42 fire department trucks, outside its hangar in an...Air Force Plant 42 firemen create a small rainbow as they shower the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP during...The German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies spectrometer, or GREAT, is mounted on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy's...The German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies, or GREAT, instrument rests on its transport cart prior to installation on...NASA and German scientists and technicians move the GREAT instrument near the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy's telescope prior to...Rainer Strecker, Deutsches SOFIA Institut quality manager, conducts a final inspection and cleaning of the German Receiver for Astronomy at...SOFIA mid-infrared mosaic image of the Messier 42 region from the Short Science 1 observing program, December 2010.SOFIA's mid-infrared image of Messier 42 (right) with comparison images of the same region made at other wavelengths by the...The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, 747SP sat on the tarmac during nighttime telescope operations at NASA's Dryden...Luke Keller, Ithaca College, N.Y., studies data collected during a rehearsal for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy's initial astronomical...ED10-0325-60 Scientists and technicians participate in nighttime, ground-based activities with Cornell University's FORCAST infrared camera mounted on SOFIA's telescope.October 22,...Bob Meyer, program manager of NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), highlights some of the technical features of the...
