The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, departed for scheduled maintenance at Lufthansa Technik’s facility in Hamburg, Germany, on Sept. 29, 2020.
Lufthansa Technik’s 747SP specialists will perform scheduled inspections and maintenance in coordination with flight, aircraft and scientific personnel from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Ames Research Center. Scheduled maintenance such as this is required for all aircraft, much like the regular servicing done on cars. Staff from the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) will also perform upgrades to the flying observatory’s telescope. The maintenance is expected to be completed early next year.
SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the University of Stuttgart. The aircraft is maintained and operated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Hangar 703.
Felicia ChouNASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0257felicia.chou@nasa.gov
Alison Hawkes
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.650-604-4789alison.hawkes@nasa.gov