Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

  • Testing begins on a new instrument to be added to NASA’s flying observatory

    Britt RawcliffeJune 5th, 2014

    NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is getting outfitted with a new instrument which is set to provide astronomers and scientists with observations only possible from the sky. The high-resolution, mid-infrared spectrograph, called the Echelon-Cross-Echelle Spectrograph (EXES), began testing on the nights of April 7 and 9, according to Matthew Richter, leader of the […]

  • House Appropriations Committee raises NASA budget

    Collin SkocikMay 10th, 2014

    On Thursday, May 8th, 2014, the House Appropriations Committee voted to give NASA $19.9 billion for FY 2015. This was about $439 million more than the White House had asked for. The Committee criticized President Obama for consistently asking for less money than what was needed to meet the space agency’s goals. A refrain which has been […]

  • Choices: NASA FY 2015 budget – ISS, Russia, SLS, Commercial Crew, SOFIA

    Jason RhianMarch 5th, 2014

    A teleconference was held on March 4, 2014, with representatives from NASA who went over the various aspects of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal. During which the turmoil in the Crimea, the asteroid retrieval mission, Dennis Tito’s request for an SLS and Orion for his Inspiration Mars effort, and the end of SOFIA were all […]

  • NASA Observatory Selects Educator Teams for 2014 Science Flights

    Press ReleaseJanuary 10th, 2014

    NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, will become a flying classroom for teachers during research flights in the next few months.

  • NASA SOFIA targets Comet ISON

    Jim SharkeyNovember 22nd, 2013

    NASA’s SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) recently made a flight to observe “targets of opportunity” including Comet ISON. The nearly 10 hour flight was SOFIA’s  second chance to study a comet, having previously observed Comet Hartley 2 in 2010.