NASA retired the Boeing 747SP SOFIA

The NASA and the German Space Agency ended the missionón of the Boeing 747SP Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), afterés from eight successful toños in obtainingón of scientific dataíficos. NASA photo

One Boeing 747 más entró his mandatory withdrawal. On this occasion a legendary 747SP that for several toñrealizes themó unthinkable missions and achievementsó change form in cóhow data is obtained from something as far away from human beings as outer space.

every dayía are less 747 flying in the world, the úlast elaborated already outó of the lífinal assembly line and when its official delivery takes place, hornbeamá the end of production has arrivedón of tan emblemáThis aircraft that revolutionizedó the way to fly by vía aérea.

The legacy of the Boeing 747SP SOFIA

Fewer four-engined vehicles fly over our cities día a día, since its operating costs are higher by consuming moreáI know that a grandfatherón twin-engine, spaghettién they polluteógicamente más and all its límaintenance line is máIt's expensive, being some of the several main reasons that lead operators around the world to remove these aircraft from their fleets and make way for new technology.íace with planes más efficient and economicóeasy to operate.

In this context, The same has happened with SOFIA the Boeing 747SP observatory that NASA together with the German Space Agency seesían venían operating with a misióvery particular.

SOFIA is an avión Boeing 747SP isá modified to carry a reflecting telescope (from 17.000 kilos and 2.5 meters long) and completeó are massesómain n from five toñthem 2019 and was already completing an extensionón too?ón from three toñadditional. They were a total of 732 nights in which SOFIA allowedó look at space like never before.

Specíficaly, after economic recommendationsómicas and by not justifying the investmentón to the results obtained, the 29 September 2022 this mission has endedón with a flight in Palmdale, which was its main base of operations during these yearsños, where alsoén visitó several paíyou know the world like meás recently it was Chile.

SOFIA'S STORY

Is long-lived, butún operational aircraft has más de 45 años since his first flight to the missing Pan Am, where new f was receivedábrica in may 1977 with marriageícula N536PA. Later I continuedó its operations in United Airlines Come in 1986 and 1997, when he finally moves to NASA with his current matrícula N747NA, operating investigative missions since thenón and various services for the production chainón of Administration servicesón Aeron Nationaláutica and the Space of the USA.

After the end of the program 29 last september, the aircraft remainedó in Palmdale and the 14 October was transferred to Mountain View, where despite the end of the program, aúinformation is not expectedóNASA's definitive statement on the future of this aircraft, being able to continue providing a service in this space agency or that it be definitively withdrawn as its operating costs are not justified.