NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) flares for landing at Hamburg, Germany on June 28, 2014 following a long flight from its base at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s facility in Palmdale, California. Over the following four months, the 37-year-old Boeing 747SP aircraft that serves as the platform for SOFIA’s high-tech German-built infrared telescope was to undergo major inspection and maintenance at Lufthana Technik’s maintenance center at Hamburg. The German Sofia Institute (DSI) was also slated to use this time to upgrade the 17-ton telescope housed in the fuselage of the NASA aircraft. The maintenance work is being performed by Lufthansa Technik due to its extensive experience in maintaining 747SP jetliners, and is being funded by the German Aerospace Center DLR as part of its 20 percent contribution to the SOFIA program.
June 28, 2014
DLR photo