The main mirror for NASA’s new airborne eye on the universe is now ready for installation after being transformed from a carefully shaped and polished piece of glass into a highly reflective optical component at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
After years of development and preparation, it took just 20 seconds to apply the shiny aluminum coating to the glass mirror for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA. The telescope is scheduled to begin initial observations in mid-2009.
“The change was quite sudden and stunning,” said Patrick Waddell, a systems engineer with the Universities Space Research Association, which manages the SOFIA science mission for NASA. “One moment, we were looking through the transparent glass mirror into its honeycomb-shaped internal structure, and then seconds later, all we saw were reflections.”
“There were quite a few technical challenges that caused us to question whether the coating quality would be this good on the first try. We’re ecstatic,” said Ed Austin, NASA’s SOFIA project manager at Ames.
Project engineers completed the first mirror coating of the German-built telescope, a major project milestone, in a 10-ton, 16-foot tall stainless steel vacuum chamber at Ames. SOFIA optical engineers and scientists will annually re-coat the mirror, as is done for other large research telescope mirrors, and also routinely clean the mirror. › Read morePhoto Description
Two University Space Research Association technicians laying on the floor of the mirror coating chamber at NASA Ames Research Center photographed themselves reflected in the perfectly coated SOFIA telescope main mirror suspended above them.June 2008
NASA Photo / Patrick Waddell (USRA)
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