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During 10-hour, overnight flights, SOFIA observes the solar system and beyond at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths gathering data to study: Visible (left) and infrared (right) images of the Horsehead Nebula.

On December 8, 2022, NASA announced that both SOFIA and the Boeing 747SP used to carry the telescope will be preserved and put on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Flying at altitudes of between 39,000 to 45,000 feet (12 – 14 kilometers) and above 99 percent of the water vapor in the atmosphere, SOFIA facilitates observations that are unobtainable from telescopes on the ground.

Sofia costs NASA about $85 million per year—a significant fraction of its astrophysics budget. And that's actually only 80 percent of the funding it needs; NASA's German counterparts provided the rest. It was ultimately the mission's high operating costs, relative to its scientific output, that took Sofia down.

The Flying Observatory Flying into the stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet puts SOFIA above 99 percent of Earth's infrared-blocking atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes.

3. Finding water on the moon. Among SOFIA's most hailed accomplishments is the discovery of water on sun-exposed parts of the moon. This couldn't have been done by any ground-based telescope, as the signature of water would be completely blocked out by water vapor in Earth's atmosphere.

Data Sheet Beginning of development phase:September 1997Transfer to Waco, Texas, where the installation of the telescope in the airplane took place:September 2002Weight of the telescope including scientific instruments:ca. 20.000 kg15 more rows