CONTENTS

 

  

 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 2024 Activities

 

 

The Fiscal Year 2024 edition of the Aeronautics and Space Report of the President, coordinated by staff in the NASA History Office, is now available! You can access this report and all previous reports going back to 1958 at https://www.nasa.gov/history/history-publications-and-resources/aeronautics-and-space-report-of-the-president/.  

 

 

History of the SOFIA Airborne Observatory Now Online

The newest offering in the NASA History Series, SOFIA: The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is now available on NASA’s website as a free e-book.

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was an airborne observatory that operated from 2010 to 2022. Developed out of a former passenger aircraft, SOFIA flew a 2.7-meter infrared telescope above the bulk of the water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere, allowing scientists to observe infrared light difficult to see from the ground. Operated in partnership with the German Aerospace Center, SOFIA provided flexibility in targeting astronomical subjects and made significant contributions to the study of magnetic fields, star formation, and the chemistry of interstellar clouds. 

This new report by historian Lois R. Rosson provides the first retrospective look at SOFIA since the mission’s conclusion in 2022. Using archival records and oral histories with astronomers, project managers, flight crew, and international partners, Rosson situates SOFIA in a broader history of airborne observation at NASA and narrates the observatory’s development, operations, and legacy. Though SOFIA was retired in 2022, it functioned as a bridge between ground- and space-based infrared astronomy, and its data sets continue to offer valuable insights into the shape and composition of our universe.

Download the e-book: https://www.nasa.gov/history/sofia

 

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NASA History Office

Office of Communications

 

history@mail.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov/history

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