Artykuły o SOFIA

[Orionid]

SOFIA resumes observations after extended maintenance
by Jeff Foust — May 31, 2018 [SN]


NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory resumed science flights May 22 after a hiatus of more than six months caused by extended maintenance on the Boeing 747SP aircraft. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — A NASA airborne observatory that enjoys unusual protection from regular reviews resumed science flights recently after an extended maintenance period.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made its first science flight in more than half a year May 22, a 10-hour flight out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. SOFIA is scheduled to fly to New Zealand June 1 for a campaign of southern hemisphere observations.
https://spacenews.com/sofia-resumes-observations-after-extended-maintenance/

NASA planning alternative reviews of SOFIA
by Jeff Foust — September 21, 2018 [SN]


NASA won't include SOFIA in its next senior review of astrophysics missions in 2019, but will carry out two alternative reviews of the airborne observatory. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA is planning two alternative reviews of an airborne observatory amid conflicting congressional views on whether the program will be eligible for the next senior review of astrophysics missions.

Speaking at the Sept. 20 meeting of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee at the headquarters of the National Science Foundation, Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said the agency is planning the alternative reviews for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) given conflicting language in House and Senate bills about if it can be included in the next senior review, scheduled for 2019.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-planning-alternative-reviews-of-sofia/

Shutdown grounds NASA’s airborne observatory
by Jeff Foust — January 9, 2019 [SN]


Flights by NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory are on hold during the government shutdown. Credit: NASA

SEATTLE — The ongoing partial government shutdown has grounded a NASA aircraft used for astronomical observations amid reviews about how to operate that program in the future.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with a 2.5-meter telescope mounted in its fuselage, has been unable able to perform any science flights since the shutdown started Dec. 22, project officials said during a town hall session about the program Jan. 8 during the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) here.
https://spacenews.com/shutdown-grounds-nasas-airborne-observatory/

NASA to adjust SOFIA operations to improve productivity
by Jeff Foust — June 12, 2019 [SN]


NASA plans to make a number of operational changes to SOFIA, including increasing the number of flights, to improve its scientific productivity. Credit: NASA

ST. LOUIS — NASA plans to adjust operations of an airborne astronomical observatory in order to increase its scientific productivity.

In a town hall presentation at the 234th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society here June 10, Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said those upcoming changes are the outcome of a pair of reviews of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 equipped with a 2.5-meter telescope for high-altitude infrared observations.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-adjust-sofia-operations-to-improve-productivity/

NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory faces termination again
by Jeff Foust — February 13, 2020 [SN]


Both NASA and OMB budget documents argued that the scientific return SOFIA provided did not justify its high operating costs. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA’s fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes cancelling an airborne observatory, a move that has surprised many astronomers but is also not the first time the project has faced termination.

The budget proposal, released Feb. 10, included the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) among the programs slated for termination. SOFIA, which received $85.2 million in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill, would get $12 million in fiscal year 2021 to close out the program and mothball the observatory.
https://spacenews.com/nasas-sofia-airborne-observatory-faces-termination-again/

SOFIA preparing to resume flights after being grounded by pandemic
by Jeff Foust — June 3, 2020 Updated June 4 with additional NASA comment on SOFIA return to flight plans. [SN]


Managers of the SOFIA airborne observatory say they hope to resume flights by late June after the coronavirus pandemic grounded the plane in March. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — A NASA airborne astronomy observatory that has been grounded for nearly three months by the coronavirus pandemic may resume flights later this month as advocates for the program address another cancellation threat.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747SP with a 2.5-meter infrared telescope, halted flight operations March 19 because of the coronavirus pandemic. NASA cited needs “to ensure the safety of all staff and to comply with state and local county orders” where the plane is based, the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, as the reasons for halting operations.
https://spacenews.com/sofia-to-resume-flights-after-being-grounded-by-pandemic/

Lunar water discovery may have limited effect on NASA exploration plans
by Jeff Foust — October 27, 2020 [SN]


Despite the discovery of traces of water in a sunlit crater on the moon, NASA's lunar exploration plans remain focused on the polar regions, the destination for an ice-prospecting rover called VIPER. Credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter

WASHINGTON — Water ice may be more prevalent on the surface of the moon that previously thought, but that discovery appears unlikely to have any near-term effect on NASA’s lunar exploration plans.
https://spacenews.com/lunar-water-discovery-may-have-limited-effect-on-nasa-exploration-plans/

AA Water molecules detected on moon’s sunlit surface, adding impetus to Artemis

NASA requests $24.8 billion in 2022, proposes to cancel SOFIA again
by Jeff Foust — May 28, 2021 [SN]


The fiscal year 2022 budget proposal includes nearly $1.2 billion for the Human Landing System program, a budget that assumes NASA continues with a single Option A award to SpaceX. Credit: SpaceX

WASHINGTON — NASA released its fiscal year 2022 budget request May 28, asking for $24.8 billion to support a number of new and existing science and exploration programs but also proposing once again to cancel an airborne astronomical observatory.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-requests-24-8-billion-in-2022-proposes-to-cancel-sofia-again/

SOFIA operations continue despite cancellation threat
by Jeff Foust — June 10, 2021 [SN]


NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory is continuing operations despite once again being threatened with cancellation. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — Despite facing the threat of cancellation for the second straight year, a NASA airborne observatory is continuing with regular operations.

NASA’s fiscal year 2022 budget request, released May 28, included a proposal to end the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a modified Boeing 747 equipped with a 2.5-meter telescope to perform infrared observations. The agency argued in its budget justification that the high cost of operating SOFIA, about $85 million per year, was not justified given the low scientific output of the observatory.
https://spacenews.com/sofia-operations-continue-despite-cancellation-threat/

Astrophysics decadal survey recommends NASA terminate SOFIA
by Jeff Foust — November 13, 2021 [SN]


The astrophysics decadal survey concluded that SOFIA's scientific output did not justify its high operating cost, with little prospect of improvement. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — The future of NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory remains in limbo after the astrophysics decadal survey gave the program, proposed for termination by NASA, a vote of no-confidence.

The astrophysics decadal survey final report, released Nov. 4, included sharp criticism of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a program that was identified as a priority in decadal surveys published in 1990 and 2000. SOFIA, which started operations in 2014 after lengthy delays, is a 2.5-meter telescope mounted in a converted Boeing 747 aircraft, allowing it to perform observations above most of the infrared-absorbing water vapor in the atmosphere.
https://spacenews.com/astrophysics-decadal-survey-recommends-nasa-terminate-sofia/

SOFIA makes case for continued operations
by Jeff Foust — January 10, 2022 [SN]


Officials with the SOFIA airborne observatory say the criticism of the program in the recent astrophysics decadal survey was based on outdated information that did not reflect recent improvements in productivity. Credit: NASA

ORLANDO, Fla. — Officials with a NASA airborne observatory responded to a stinging rebuke in the latest astrophysics decadal survey by arguing that the facility, targeted for termination, is essential to the agency’s broader science program.

In a virtual town hall meeting Jan. 10, Margaret Meixner, director of science mission operations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), said that the scientific productivity of the program, which flies an infrared telescope on a Boeing 747, was improving and that it served as a “steppingstone” for future space missions.
https://spacenews.com/sofia-makes-case-for-continued-operations/

NASA and DLR to end SOFIA operations
by Jeff Foust — April 28, 2022 [SN]


SOFIA flights will end by Sept. 30, NASA and DLR announced April 28, as the agencies shut down an airborne observatory criticized for high operating costs and low scientific productivity. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA and German space agency DLR announced April 28 they will end operations of an airborne astrophysics observatory in September.

The agencies said that flights of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with a 2.7-meter infrared telescope mounted in its fuselage, will end no later than Sept. 30, at the conclusion of its current extended mission.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-and-dlr-to-end-sofia-operations/

NASA defends decision to shut down SOFIA
by Jeff Foust — May 8, 2022 [SN]


NASA says the decadal survey's recommendation that the agency shut down SOFIA makes this year's effort to terminate the airborne observatory different from previous years' proposals. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA officials say they believe the latest effort to shut down an airborne observatory is more likely to be successful because of the endorsement of doing so by last year’s decadal survey.

NASA’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal called for shutting down the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with a 2.7-meter infrared telescope mounted in its fuselage. “SOFIA’s annual operations budget is the second-most expensive operating mission in Astrophysics, yet the science productivity of the mission is not commensurate with other large science missions,” the agency stated in its budget proposal.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-defends-decision-to-shut-down-sofia/

Astronomers want “strong finish” for SOFIA
by Jeff Foust — June 17, 2022 [SN]


SOFIA project officials said they will keep the airborne observatory flying as much as possible through the end of September, when the project will shut down. Credit: NASA

PASADENA, Calif. — The organization that operates an airborne astronomical observatory that NASA is shutting down this year wants to end the project on a high note.

In a June 15 statement, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) acknowledged the impending end of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with a 2.7-meter infrared telescope mounted in its fuselage. NASA announced April 28 an agreement with its partner on SOFIA, the German space agency DLR, to cease flight operations of SOFIA at the end of September. That announcement came a month after NASA’s fiscal year 2023 budget request proposed ending the project.
https://spacenews.com/astronomers-want-strong-finish-for-sofia/

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1519835751395041284
https://twitter.com/Boneyardsafari/status/1648519524604575744

05.07.23)

It’s #sofiasunday and here is a look at the arrival of NASA Sofia #747SP #N747NA at Pima Air and Space. #sofia #nasasofia #nasa #dlr #pimaairandspacemuseum #aviationsafari #aviationpreservation #boneyardsafari #sofiatelescope #DSI

https://twitter.com/Boneyardsafari/status/1675580124799062016