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Murali Kandlagunta
Deputy Associate Director SOFIA Mission Operations - USRA, NASA-AFRC Palmdale, CA
The SOFIA Instrument Platform
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, is a unique airborne science observatory with a 17 ton, 2.7m diameter Cassegrain telescope mounted inside a highly modified Boeing 747-SP aircraft. SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, the German Space Agency). Flight operations are being conducted out of the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California. The SOFIA Science Center (SSC), responsible for overseeing the scientific output of the mission, is located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The Science Mission Operations are jointly managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) for NASA and by the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI), in Stuttgart, for DLR. Aircraft operations are handled by NASA Armstrong. Some of SOFIA’s core research topics are the birth of stars and planets, interstellar origins, magnetic fields, and the distant universe. SOFIA provides a platform for educators, scientists, and journalists to fly on the aircraft and witness science missions. In addition, SOFIA serves as a testbed for new and emerging technologies to develop productive science instruments in the future.
SOFIA aircraft flies above 99% of the water vapor at observing altitudes of 35000 to 45000 feet. With its complement of six science instruments, SOFIA enables operational wavelengths from 0.36µm to 612µm for imaging, spectroscopic, spectrometric, and polarimetric observations. Science instruments (SI) weigh about 600 kgs and operate at temperatures ranging from 4K to 200mK. SI swaps are frequent and dependent on the cycle schedule and science demands. The aircraft accommodates both cryogen-operated and cryocooler-operated science instruments. SOFIA flies four times a week, with a fifth contingency flight. Mission operations require meticulous and nimble planning as multiple complex systems must work in unison to deliver science. The SOFIA team is skilled at executing science and aircraft operations consistently and efficiently. SI development for SOFIA has evolved and matured over the years. With six successful SI developments under the belt, new SI developers will benefit from a streamlined SI development process, an experienced team, and valuable lessons learned from past SI developments. This talk will cover SI development and commissioning process, Airworthiness compliance, operations, and SOFIA deployments.
