SOFIA Prepares for the Stars

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, 747SP sat on the tarmac during nighttime telescope operations at NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in October 2010.

SOFIA, which is a cooperative program between NASA and the German Aerospace Center DLR, took off for the heavens on its first science flight Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2010, focusing on the Orion nebula and the Sharpless 140 star cluster.

Image Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida