Recommended Citation
August 1, 2012.
Abstract
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a 2.7 meter telescope on board a Boeing 747‐ SP. The telescope has been receiving upgrades to equipment and instruments, as a result the Telescope Assembly needs to be evaluated and calibrated to achieve optimal image quality. The challenge to collimating a 2.7 meter telescope without special equipment attached to the telescope is essential for optimal observation time. This calibration needs to done in flight with science instrument in place and take only minutes to perform for maximum observing time and data collecting.
Mentor
Zaheer Ali
Lab site
NASA Armstrong (Formerly Dryden) Flight Research Center
Funding Acknowledgement
This material is based upon work supported by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0952013. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation or the National Science Foundation. This project has also been made possible with support of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The STAR program is administered by the Cal Poly Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) on behalf of the California State University (CSU).
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/star/146