SOFIA

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Sofia is the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, which is being funded by NASA and the German space agency. This will be an airborne observatory equipped with a 2.5m telescope on a Boeing 747 aircraft. Topics which will be the focus of study for Sophia include star formation, proto-planetary disk environments, origin of biogenic material, structure of planetary atmospheres, rings and comets, and a study of the center of the Milky Way.

Mission Timeline

• First flights in 2001

IRTF Mission Support

• Extensive instrumentation development support
• Developing target lists
• Complementary wavelength coverage
• Follow-up observations