NASA's SOFIA 747SP shows evidence of modification to its aft fuselage contours to accommodate a 16-foot-tall cavity door for its 45,000-pound infrared telescope

NASA's SOFIA 747SP shows evidence of modification to its aft fuselage contours to accommodate a 16-foot-tall cavity door for its 45,000-pound infrared telescope.

NASA's SOFIA 747SP shows evidence of modification to its aft fuselage contours to accommodate a 16-foot-tall cavity door for its 45,000-pound infrared telescope.

Photographer NASA/Carla Thomas
Location AFRC
SOFIAfirst flightStratospheric Observatory for Infrared AstronomyGerman-built 100-inch 2 5 meter diameter infrared telescope20 tonshighly-modified Boeing 747SP aircraftDLR Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt German AerospaceL-3 Communications Integrated SystemsUniversities Space Research AssociationUSRADeutsches SOFIA InstitutDSI