Due to the lapse in federal government funding, NASA is not updating this website.

Suggested Searches

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)

This illustration shows NASA's SOFIA in shades of blue. SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft, and so it is shaped like a commercial airplane, with the NASA and German Aerospace Center (DLR) logos on its tail.
December 20, 2022
Credit NASA
Historical Date December 20, 2022
Language
  • english

An illustration of NASA's SOFIA, a modified Boeing 747 aircraft. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

SOFIA carried a reflecting telescope that observed the cosmos in infrared light. It flew into Earth's stratosphere, up to about 45,000 feet (13,700 meters), and collected data during 10-hour overnight flights, observing the Moon, planets, stars, nearby galaxies and more. SOFIA was a joint project of NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR.

First Flight: April 26, 2007
Final Flight: Sept. 28-29, 2022