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Posted by Andrew Yee on March 7, 2007, 12:36 am
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Deutsches Zentrum f Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Koeln, Germany
Contact:
Vanadis Weber
Corporate Communications
Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) - German Aerospace Center
Tel.: +49 2203 601-3068
Fax: +49 2203 601-3249
Dr. Dietmar Lilienthal
German Aerospace Center
Space Agency
Tel.: +49 228 447-504
Fax: +49 228 447-745
30 January 2007
Flying star control room SOFIA back on course
NASA and DLR extend their joint venture agreement for another ten years
At the end of 1996, the American National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) agreed to
jointly develop and operate SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For
Infrared Astronomy. The airborne observatory, which is equipped with a
high-tech telescope, operates at an altitude of approx. 14 000 metres and
will study infrared astronomy. The first bilateral agreement (Memorandum of
Understanding), that distributes tasks during the development and operating
phases was valid for ten years and came to an end at the end of 2006. At the
beginning of this year, the NASA Administrator, Dr Michael Griffin and the
Chairman of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Prof.
Sigmar Wittig, agreed to continue their collaboration in a Memorandum of
Understanding.
"I can now look forward to this unique GermanAmerican project continuing for
the next ten years on a firm footing", said Wittig. Prof. Wolfram Ressel,
Rector of the University of Stuttgart, is also very optimistic about the
continuation of this collaboration. The project, with contributions from
several university institutes, Stuttgart Airport and companies, will also
help reinforce Stuttgart's reputation as a research centre, he says.
German telescope
The telescope, along with its mounting and reflecting panel, is the German
contribution to the observatory. It has been developed and built on behalf
of DLR led by two companies: MT Aerospace and Kayser-Threde. The "Clipper
Lindbergh", which was once a Boeing 747 SP long-haul aircraft, was converted
by L3 Communications Integrated Systems in Texas; the telescope was then
installed by L3. The first test flights are in the preparation stage and the
first scientific observational flights are planned for 2008.
Operations centre at the University of Stuttgart
The German SOFIA Institute (DSI) was founded at the University of Stuttgart
in November 2004 on behalf of DLR. DSI will coordinate SOFIA's scientific
use of the data at the same time as providing the German contribution
towards operation of the observatory in the USA. DSI will also perform
public relations and training duties, in collaboration with the DLR and the
scientific community, concerning the scientific use of the data.
SOFIA is a joint project between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Further to an
application from DLR, it is being supported by funds on a federal (BMWi) and
regional level (Baden-Wttemberg) and from the University of Stuttgart. The
scientific operations are being coordinated on the German side by the German
SOFIA Institute (DSI) from the University of Stuttgart.
IMAGE CAPTION:
[Image 1:
http://www.dlr.de/en/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-1/86_read-7261/gallery-1/gallery_read-Image.1.2406/ ]
[Image 2:
http://www.dlr.de/en/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-1/86_read-7261/gallery-1/gallery_read-Image.1.2409/ ]
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, on 25 September
2006 at L-3com in Waco, Texas.
Credit: DLR/NASA
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