Waco is the birthplace of Dr. Pepper, Steve Martin, yours truly, and the next giant step in infrared astronomy, SOFIA.  Due largely to my Mom, who owns the Le Vega Flower Shop in Waco not too far from the old air base, I was able to witness the delivery of the telescope for SOFIA. Even aircraft modification folks buy flowers occasionally, so it didn't take much to figure out where SOFIA was being kept. Earlier this year I contacted the Astronomical Society of the Pacific who, along with the SETI Institute, handles the education and public outreach programs for SOFIA. I was then directed to the media relations folks at L-3, who thought that a good time for a FWAS member to look at SOFIA would be on the day the telescope came to town.

NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are working together to create the world's largest airborne telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). An airborne observatory, at about 41,000 feet, will permit data collection above more than 99% of the atmospheric water vapor while allowing for instrument and technology upgrades that are difficult at best with space based telescopes.

SOFIA was born as a Boeing 747SP, a short body version of the 747. It was named the Clipper Lindbergh by Pan AM on the 50^th anniversary of the first New York to Paris solo flight. The aircraft was purchased in 1986 by United Airlines, and then by NASA in 1997. United Airlines will operate and maintain SOFIA at NASA's Ames Research Center, near San Jose, California.

The 2.5 meter (98.4 inch) diameter telescope from MAN Technologies and Kayser-Threde Corp. in Germany weighs over 22 tons. The three largest segments were shipped aboard an Airbus Beluga cargo aircraft to the facilities of L-3 Communications Integrated Systems at Waco. The excitement for the project reached its height on the first Wednesday of September with the first glimpse of the approaching Beluga. After landing before noon and rolling to a stop at the hanger housing the 747, the monster aircraft was opened to reveal the telescope assembly.

The scope will be stored in the hanger and installed into SOFIA by the L-3 folks with help from the German contractors. Installation and initial testing are scheduled for completion by the spring of 2004. Arrival at NASA Ames is set for June 2004, with operational flights starting in late 2004.

Operations will be conducted primarily over the Pacific Ocean, with an average flight time of 6-10 hours and a crew of 25. About four flights are planned per week with flights from New Zealand scheduled for several months each year. Plans call for a tentative lifespan of 20 years for SOFIA.