The Incredible Transformation of a Boeing 747SP into a Space Observatory - SOFIA!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 жов 2024
- Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/me... It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!
NASA and its partners flew their last mission with SOFIA, a flying telescope that used the 747SP as a platform. But what was the Boeing 747SP and why did NASA choose such an unusual aircraft for this specialized role?
If you want to support the work I do on the channel, join my Patreon crew and get awesome perks and help me move the channel forward! 👇
👉🏻 / mentourpilot
👉🏻 Check out our other channel here: / mentournow
Get the Mentour Aviation app and discuss what You think about this! Download the app for FREE using the link below 👇
📲
📲 Join the Mentour Pilot Discord server here! 👉🏻 / discord
I have also created an Amazon page with Aviation books, material and flight simulator stuff that I think you will enjoy!
👉🏻 www.amazon.com...
Follow my life on instagram and get awesome pictures from the cockpit!
📲 / mentour_pilot
To find the right HEADSET for YOU, check out BOSE Aviation 👉🏻 boseaviation-e...
Artwork in the studio 👉🏻 aeroprints.de/...
Get some Awesome Mentour Pilot merch 👉🏻 mentour-crew.c...
Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode. Enjoy checking them out!
Sources
-----------------------------------------------------
Videos
• Up all Night with SOFI...
• Space Shuttle Endeavou...
• Airports 1970s HD | St...
• The A380 makes aviatio...
• 747-8 Freighter gets p...
• Boeing 777, from A to B
• New Hubble Discovery, ...
• New 747-8 Freighter go...
• The Dance Of Operation...
Articles
aeroxplorer.co...
www.nasa.gov/f...
Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/mentournow It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!
Really? NASA wants to use aircraft to look at rings around my anus?!?!
NordVPN is one of the worst, most misleading VPNs.
First they spam their ads everywhere on UA-cam.
Second, any VPN can bypass region locks on content.
Third, even without a VPN hackers cannot freely "access your personal data" like what's being shown at 4:42
@@TheMatsushitaMan I've said much the same thing on other channels. I don't object to content creators seeking sponsors. But why is it always the worst one of any type? Raycon Ear buds -- the absolute worst brand of ear buds. Raid Shadow Legends -- microtransaction hell. And Nord VPN -- the worst and least trustworthy of all the VPNs. And the list goes on...
@@fredashay All because of the monetary gain
I just saw this plane flying three weeks ago at the Edward’s Airforce Base airshow. Crazy how large the SP is but also how small it is compared to a -400 or -800. Awesome to see you tell your audience about this airplane. It was flying on October 14th,15th,and 16th. They stated she still will be used for science.
Thank you @Mentor Pilot for coving this because my dad had a hand on making this happen and he helped with installing the door of the telescope and I AM GLAD that it is going to a museum in California do that I can actually see what my dad actually worked on ;)
Nice one mate.
Thank your dad from all of us! 💕
Very cool! I worked with a number of people who went on to work on SOFIA, including one of the main test pilots.
How cool!
Sheesh
I'm an astronomer, sometimes glider pilot, and an appreciator of aviation engineering.
What more can I say, other than that was very enjoyable watching. Ta! 😁😁😁
That makes me happy to hear!
Me too, except for the glider pilot. 😆 This video has to be my number 1 favourite video.
Any real astronomer or engineer would know that a telescope could never maintain a fix on a tiny distant object from a moving vehicle. People are so stupid these days.
@@JamesHawkeUA-cam Indeed they are! Also uneducated! :)
@@JamesHawkeUA-cam any "real" astronomer also would know that space telescopes take measurements also while moving. Even satellites in GSO are moving every second.
I was the lead instrumentation engineer on SOFIA at L-3 Communications (formerly Raytheon) up until delivery of the aircraft to NASA. I had the privilege of working with the amazing engineers, electricians and mechanics that designed, modified and built this fantastic aircraft. I got to witness the entire modification process and was actively involved in the ground and flight testing up to delivery. It’s truly an amazing aircraft but as they say, all good things must come to an end.
Cool to see how the telescope is stabilized at 9:59. Keep in mind: The telescope stands perfectly stil. It's the airplane around that is shaking in flight.
It's like me when I go out observing. I drink so much caffeine to stay up late that I am shaking just like that. Need a very solid telescope mount to keep me from shaking it.
@@yukonstriker1703 it starts with c too
It's worth noting that the shaking isn't nearly as bad up there as what you're probably used to on regular commercial flights. These missions are flying around 10,000 feet higher than normal commercial flights and there's very little weather up there. Aside from the tops of very large thunderstorms, weather happens almost entirely in the troposphere, which these missions fly above. There would still be some shaking from the engines and aerodynamic forces induced by the aircraft itself, but those would be quite minor compared to turbulence from weather. The lack of water vapor mentioned in the video, in addition to causing less infrared interference, also means that there is essentially no convection at all up there.
I actually live in Palmdale (where the SOFIA is based) - my house is actually just off the extended centerline of runway 7/25, so several planes that take off and land from there pass almost directly overhead at low altitude. Because of this, I've actually had the privilege of seeing SOFIA a couple times as it approached for landing.
That's actually pretty cool.
I work the second shift in Plant 42 so I've often seen SOFIA taking off for a mission during sunset.
That's great. Do you use a scanner to hear the pilot and atc? I do sometimes and it's quite interesting.
I live in Christchurch, New Zealand where SOFIA was stationed for 4 to 6 months out of every year, for the Southern Hemisphere season. The Nasa guys were just lovely to deal with and they seemed to really look forward to being stationed here. It was always really nice to see her parked up on the Antarctic Apron (where the C-130s bound for Antarctica also parked) at Christchurch Airport. I went inside Sofia and got the grand tour from the guys. What an Amazing craft she was both inside and out. All of the technicians were seated and surrounded by screens. It reminded me very much of the flight deck of the 'Nostromo' in the orginal 'ALIEN' movie. Surrounded by beeping, whirring and a hussle of activity. Technology all around you, like being encased inside a giant computer. The huge articulated telescope was in the same compartment right next to us and trust me it was an impressive sight. I'm genuinely sad ill never get to see or go on board SOFIA again.
@@gl3nnium I'm guessing it will go to a museum in Southern California, maybe even in Palmdale. There's a pair of adjoining publicly accessible airparks on the southern edge of Plant 42 - Blackbird Airpark and Joe Davies Heritage Airpark. I wouldn't be surprised to see it put there.
This is such perfect timing. I’ve only just found (and am now completely hooked on) this channel. My dad was a pilot for 20+ years (now retired) and spent a good amount of that time flying the Boeing 747-200- and was based in Sweden at the time. Very much looking forward to sharing this series with him ✈️
Awesome! I hope he is doing well!
Welcome to the party, pal. Makes sure you subscribe to the main channel too. :)
@@nitehawk86 “ unfortunately” I’ve been watching/listening to the main channel since I found it and my dad now feels like my questions remind him of a line check 😂
Thank you for the detailed design information on the special version of the 747SP, and regarding the presentation and announcement of the SOFIA project. The aircraft was in Stuttgart for a few days in September 2019, and I had the opportunity and luck to visit it directly at the airport from the outside and inside. The most impressive thing for me was that this aircraft can fly with the flap open, flying so smoothly that it can take sharp long exposure pictures. I also found the plane to be quite "bare" on the inside, lacking the wall panels you see on passenger planes, you could directly see the struts of the plane's body. That's why it was relatively cold for the scientists who flew along and sat at their monitors etc. in the fuselage, they had to dress warmly.
It was also interesting to learn that the airplane does not reach the maximum flight altitude at the beginning. This is because in the beginning it is too heavy to reach the maximum flight altitude due to the fuel it has been refueled with, and it starts at about FL 390. Only after several hours, when enough fuel has been burned in the course of the flight and the aircraft has become lighter as a result, does it climb in succession to the next higher flight level, up to FL 450. Since it mostly returns to the starting airport, but on the other hand the telescope must always be able to observe the same part of the sky for a while, it flies "almost" straight ahead for a while at a time, and then changes direction and flies straight ahead again for a while, with the route leading back to the starting airport at the end. The "straight out" flight paths are not completely straight, however, but somewhat curved, since the telescope must maintain its line of sight relative to space as the Earth rotates away beneath it. This is how the typical flight paths of the SOFIA aircraft are created, as they can also be seen clearly on the following page.
www.dsi.uni-stuttgart.de/institut/aktuelles/news/Fliegende-Sternwarte-SOFIA-zu-Gast-am-Stuttgarter-Flughafen/
SOFIA has flown at least two or three times in October, although not on NASA missions. Edwards AFB hosted an airshow on the 15th and 16th and they managed to get SOFIA there, where I was able to get a few pictures. There was also an overnight trip to the Bay Area the night before. There may be a couple more, but I’m not aware of them.
Oh, that might have happened after we finished the script. Cool!
I was on duty at Edwards when SOFIA came in for the air show/open house. They broke the tug trying to tow it into position so they fired up the #2 & #3 engines and taxied into place with the crowd just meters away. It must’ve been an awesome experience for the spectators who were positioned right there in front of it as it pulled in.
Thanks for doing this topic! I’m an astrophysicist who loves commercial aviation, so this video was a treat from you, Mentour!
I saw SOFIA in 2019 when she was stationed in Stuttgart back then.
She was a real beauty, this incredible plane with TWO humps.
SOFIA is one of the best examples of two engineering powerhouses cooperating:
NASA: "We want a new flying telescope. A BIG one."
DRL: "Say no more, we got you covered."
NASA: "Great! Let´s do it together! You bring the telescope, we´ll get a plane for it."
DLR/NASA: *high five*
I will really miss her, now that she is retired.
I'm an astrophysicist turned atmospheric scientist, and I was really sad when SOFIA was decommissioned. A friend of mine worked with it during his postdoc and he seemed to really enjoy it. I'm totally jealous of him lol.
There is a lot of atmospheric measurements made from aircraft, and they're super useful for science, satellite data validation, and weather forecasting. I don't know how they're acquired though (I'm definitely on the receiving end). Would love to see you explain it all :)
Thanks for the awesome content, as usual! :)
I'm pretty sure a lot of it is just "instrument sticks out from the aircraft, takes readings". With some sort of recording device inside the aircraft, of course.
yes I Agree Your Totally Right
I'm over 30 years old, and "it discovered the rings around Uranus" still makes me chuckle.
Imagine if humanity put all the money and effort it spends in bickering and in wars into science and technology instead. Projects like these, even if they do come to an end, inspire hope and awe.
I couldn’t agree more.
Well said, indeed.
So excited you're doing this subject! Sofia is an amazing observatory, sad to see it go!
Indeed!
This is absolutely wonderful. Beautiful coverage of some thing different in aviation. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
The most interesting things I learned here were 1) shorter planes need longer tailfins (seems obvious now you point it out, but i'd never noticed) and 2) The overlapping wing box enabled the creation of the 747-400. As they say, you learn something new every day.
My wife and I used to live off the west end of PMD and SOFIA would take off over our neighborhood. It was an amazing airplane to see down low. Unfortunately we had already left California before she did her last flyby on the way to the museum in AZ. On a side note we named our dog NASA because SOFIA flew over the house the night we got him! Thank you Petter for the great video. It got home for us.
The launch of the JWST was so precise that the time of service was extended to 20 years. SOFIA deserves all the kudos for bringing us to JWST.
Yep, the Arianspace team really knocked it out of the park with their launch, exceeding even some of the most optimistic plans for getting on-station near L2. Their present generation rockets may be getting outclassed in launch mass and price per mass by the newer generation in development, but the JWST mission proves they really have a great launch program!
@@BlahVideosBlahBlah The JWST launch in my book was the most perfect launch in history, for so many points of failure the fact that it was so precise and nothing went wrong to the moment it took its first photo is incredible.
Thank you for this episode Petter! That was a gem! As an aviation but also an astronomy enthusiast I really enjoyed it!
I just walked through the SOFIA observatory a couple of weeks ago. She was visiting Moffett Field in California and they had an open day before her retirement. It was super cool.
09:14 - Not to forget that even Concorde was used for astronomical observation. The prototype 001 had its roof cut and windows installed for observing the eclipse overhead, which permitted 74 minutes of continuous observation of the eclipse, as compared to the 7 minutes that would otherwise be possible for ground-based observers.
I saw one of SOPHIA's last public displays @ Edwards AFB last month. Low & slow flyby with the telescope door open. Cool to see.
I've worked at Boeing 8 years- I'm a nerd for this kind of special aircraft, but I never knew this existed until today. What awesome engineering. Whenever this makes it to a museum I'm definitely taking a trip to see it in person.
Great video and very informative, It is a shame you couldn't have Kelsey' input on this one.
Keep up the good work, thank you for the content, and I hope you are enjoying your time.
At Lufthansa Werft in Hamburg (SOFIA was actually there for service when i visited) they told us, that NASA had problems to certify the aircraft after the modifications and finally decided to declare is as a spacecraft to avoid the hassles.
I didn’t find that 😂
I worked on the SOFIA aircraft running engineering for modification projects. I can say that it was flown as a public use aircraft, which doesn’t have to meet FAA certification requirements. Public use can only apply to government owned aircraft. NASA did require us to design to the FAA certification requirements when we could, but we never officially provided FAA approval.
@@derdan20 yes but NASA is not a German government entity and the FAA not the German Aviation Authority. This comment might still be true, the US is not the only country in the world with rules.
@@DUDA-__- But the Aircraft is US registered, and therefore follows the rules of the US. EASA is the CAA for Germany. To fly internationally, the governments have agreements outside of ICAO to enable international flights. It is the same for military aircraft.
@@derdan20 I think you underestimate bureaucracy. :)
I love the way you set this up. The history, tied to the why, tied to the mission. Really nice job.
Great addition to your videos, Mentour - hope you have much joy and success till you are back in “your” Boeing cockpit again in spring!
Cheers and all the best for you from Germany,
Pepe
Imagine how awesome it would be to do astronomy at FL450!
imagine satellite telescopes!!!
I did it a lot by just watching the stars from the cockpit 😂
SOFIA is being flown Tuesday 13 December 2022 to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson. In January she will be moved over to PIMA Air & Space Museum.
As a sky watcher and amateur astronomer, I absolutely loved this.
For those who want to know a little more about what it was like during an observing flight on SOFIA, Emily Levesque has a chapter that describes a night on board in her book "The Last Skywatchers."
Awesome!
I live and work right by where SOFIA is based, and I've watched her take to the skies many times, both with my eyes and on a radar scope. Got to see her up close and personal just after her final mission, since she was open to public tours at the Edwards Air Show a few weeks ago. What a cool piece of history and science.
Combination of two of my favorite subjects! Aviation and astronomy ❤️❤️
I am not a pilot (just an Engineer who has always been interested in aviation) but I find all of your videos informative, professionally done and fascinating please keep up the great work!
A passenger window of that size would really be cool 😎
It's amazing how many design changes were made for this variant.
All at the expense of the tax payers, another A380 like adventure.
Thanks captain, I flew on EP-IAB Tehran-Seoul back in the early 2000s, glad to have flown on this special bird!
Awesome!
Thanks for another great video! I especially liked this one because it combined two of my favorite things...the 747 AND astronomy. No surprise NASA picked the Queen for this project and that it was such a success. Very sad to see it come to an end and I'm with you Petter, I'd much rather see SOFIA repurposed in another project than just sitting in a museum. Interesting too to learn about this version of the 747 and how she was modified for the project. It will be a very sad day indeed when production of 747's comes to an end. Thanks again as always for another very interesting and informative video! Well done!
When Mentour Pilot Aviation and Astronomy comes together ❤❤❤❤❤
Me fanboying like crazy!!!! This was so awesome! Me imagining a collab between Petter and Anton Petrov (Hello wonderful person) 😍😍😍😍
Wonderfully presented and very informative. Look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Welcome! I hope you will like it here on the channel.
Sp long, SOFIA. You did a wonderful job!
She did
We used to live practically under the flight-path (north end) of Sea-Tac Airport. My dad was a Boeing engineer (yeah, I'm a Boeing brat). We were walking home from the bus one day and I yelled, "Look at that little bitty 747!" and he chuckled and told me it was an SP. Love this video, and I'm glad UA-cam recommended your channel!
Wow what an interesting and fascinating video Petter!
I can totally see and understand why the hard questions were asked and the decision was made to retire SOFIA after the successful launch and service performance of the James Webb IR telescope.
Thanks for a great video on this fascinating topic. Nicely Done!
Thank you for sharing this presentation and for the amazing explanation about this amazing aircraft and its research.
I did see it during it's D-check at Lufthansa Technik Hamburg in 2014 as I worked there in the VIP department. It was launched 2007 not 2014.
One day we heard about SOFIA being there and getting checked, as no other company in the world was willing to do this maintenance on this special aircraft.
So we went there after lunch break and took a good look. Then one of the scientists catched us looking and gave us a tour and some infos on a model and some demonstrators for the telescope mounts including the vibration control air buffers. Great day that was. We almost missed the end of our shift.
What a piece of tech it is.
The rear section did not just get another pressure bulkhead. The whole upper section was replaced with a bigger section to fit the door and opening into it. They also added a whindshield just before the door opening to shield the telescope from the wind and counteract the aerodynamic effects of the open door during flight.
The 747SP has also the advantage that it can fly very high as it has the wing of a bigger airplane and significant less weight on it.
A few years ago a friend spent a night onboard SOFIA as a member of the science team when she was working out of NZ. (I think "working" is a loose term during the flight a much of the work is actually done before and after the flight if all goes well.)
That's awesome!
I saw it in Christchurch
I must still be 13, because "discovered the rings around Uranus" still makes me giggle uncontrollably.
Very nice love letter to SOFIA. It was my favorite telescope. What could be better, astronomy married to coolest of the Queen of the Skies. Thank you for this video!
Thank you for this episode and your detailed explanations of the subject.
I enjoyed it very much because I helped to produce the bearing of the telescope which is able to stabilize it during flight to the highest precision ever archieved. 22 years ago the Bearing Company FAG was with its equipment in their plant in Wuppertal in Germany the only production in the world which was able to do the finish operations at the bearing in the requested precision. At that time it was the most precise hydrostatic bearing ever made with oil gap totolerances of +/- 10ym on a sphere of 1.2 m in diameter. This super high precision was necessary to avoid any stip-slick-effects for the actuators to compensate the movement of the airplane in flight. We had been working together with the MT Aerospace AG in Augsburg (at that time MAN Technologie AG) for the DLR to complete the telescope. The assembly of the telescope into the airplane was delayed for many years because President Bush stopped the NASA project SOFIA for financial reasons until President Obama reactivated SOFIA and the telescope was finally mounted into the plane 13 years after its production in Germany had been completed. It's a pity that the time of this flying telescope seems to be over. As far as I know it was scientifically a very futile cooperation between the scientists from Germany (University of Stuttgart) and the US astronomers during these 8 years of operation.
Just popping in to say this was one of my favorite videos in a while.
Sophia flew over to the Edward's airbase for the airshow. It was beautiful to see her in the sky one last time!
What a fascinating and insightful video and most importantly, so easy to understand. Thanks again, Peter.
Thanks for the SOFIA story. I was working at NASA on the 12 Foot Pressurized Wind Tunnel Restoration project as tech rep for the tunnel operators - The Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel division. 1996 was the end of the project and the engineering team was assigned to the SOFIA project. It also was almost the end of my days at NASA. I was also ready for retirement. Fond memories of my days at Ames.
i remember when they flew these things in the jet stream on express runs between tokyo and honolulu. we used to watch them nearly dive bomb the runway for landing because they took pride in trying to stay in the jet stream as long as possible. good times.
I seem to remember that the French used Concorde (putting a few windows in the roof) to keep up with a solar eclipse and so conduct much longer observations than would have been possible from the ground.
I think it would be fascinating to be a part of the team doing the design and build of something so incredible. 👌
I live in Christchurch, New Zealand where SOFIA was stationed for 4 to 6 months out of every year, for the Southern Hemisphere season. The Nasa guys were just lovely to deal with and they seemed to really look forward to being stationed here. It was always really nice to see her parked up on the Antarctic Apron (where the C-130s bound for Antarctica also parked) at Christchurch Airport. I went inside Sofia and got the grand tour from the guys. What an Amazing craft she was both inside and out. All of the technicians were seated and surrounded by screens. It reminded me very much of the flight deck of the 'Nostromo' in the orginal 'ALIEN' movie. Surrounded by beeping, whirring and a hussle of activity. Technology all around you, like being encased inside a giant computer. The huge articulated telescope was in the same compartment right next to us and trust me it was an impressive sight. I'm genuinely sad ill never get to see or go on board SOFIA again.
It will be at the Pima Air and Space museum in Arizona USA. Come over. Its a once in a lifetime deal.
Used to see this flying in my home city of Christchurch during winters. Was really cool to see it flying.
I also was lucky enough when young to get a personal guided tour of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory when it was in own once. Was really cool to see all the tech inside. Not much room in there
Man I’ve never heard of that before that’s super interesting.
Thank you for this, was lucky enough to have a tour around this when it was working out of Christchurch airport a few years ago. I don't suppose we will ever see a 747SP out this way again.
I love your non-passenger airplane streams. It's uber exciting...
Just last year I met a former NASA scientist, now living back here in Australia, who was heavily involved in building the telescope for that project. It was fascinating to learn a few details about it, and the challenges to work together using multi-national teams. If I remember correctly, she did notice a distinct difference in approaching issues between her American and German colleagues.
Delicious topic, Petter, thank you! I've always had a passion for astronomy. Hope you're feeling absolutely fantastic. :)
great video, reminds me of older mentour channel videos
Never knew it existed so thank you so much for covering the retirement of this very unique aircraft
I lost it at "the rings around Uranus", at the age of 30. I will probably never grow up… 😂
Great video, i had no idea that SOFIA only lasted 12 years, it felt like much longer, but i guess i might've been thinking of KAO.
But cool to see that you're doing deep dives into historic airplanes, because even though there are many channels around that do this, but there aren't many pilots doing it, which makes these feel more 'official'.
Even if you all use the same wiki data, a professional will add more details from their own knowledge, good stuff!
It actually only lasted 8 years
@@MentourNow It entered scientific service in 2010 and flew much earlier for testing. Sorry to correct you on this.
Great informative video. Thank you
That was absolutely fabulous!
That's just fascinating! When I'm clipping along the highway in my car and lower a rear window, the buffeting air is obvious- and that's only at 120 km/h. Imagine the effects with 747 air speeds! Sure, there's a pressure bulkhead separating the telescope area from the rest of the fuselage, and sure, the air is much thinner upwards of 45,000 feet- but it's still staggering to me that it is reported to have flown like this giant door wasn't even open. I'm also impressed that the buffeting that I picture in my mind, was able to be counteracted by the design of the telescope. Thank you for this very informative video, I enjoyed it immensely!
My dad flew the 74-sp for PAA. They had it on the NY to Tokyo. At the time was the only plane that could do it non stop. Great vid. Cheers
Who knows... your old man might have flown SOFIA when she was new, since she was the former PanAm Clipper Lindbergh.
Currently in school for my A&P license and a huge space nerd, was so sad when they announced she was retiring. Would have been a dream job being an AMT with the SOFIA team!!
Thank you so much for creating this video and while I was aware of the background of Sofi I have been wondering about the project and the overlap with the James Webb project. I am sad to hear of the end of the program and the 747SP will always hold a special place n my heart as well.
“Uranus” was funny :)
I hope this amazing plane and its technology is preserved in a museum.
Sad to see SOFIA retired, I've always thought it was one of the coolest telescopes out there.
I had the great opportunity to see the sofia 747 in Christchurch New Zealand a few months back. pure coincidence that I was heading to christchurch from Australia the day before it was due to leave for the last time. it was an absolute joy to see it parked on the Antarctic apron and awesome to see engineering excellence.
I have loved the 747 since I was a kid.
My cousin had some really nice solid metal commercial designed aircraft toys. We used to quiz each other to identify them by engine placement, rear stabilizer design and so forth. His room was also on the top floor of the house which was on a hill and we could see the airport. He had a radio receiver that we could listen in to the communications as we observed the planes coming and going.
The 747 has been a favorite since those days and fond memories. Sad to see it coming to an end, but life goes on.
I'm a space geek and a B747 aficionado, so this video is a real treat!
Hope you like it!
@@MentourNow You bet I did! Thanks for uploading.
I would love to have SOFIA either in Speyer or Sinsheim. Moth have a wonderfull collection of special planes.
I know a guy from San Francisco that worked on SOFIA. When asked how they aimed a telescope in a 747 he answered "VERY CAREFULLY" lol. Not sure if she still does it but at the time his wife was doing work for the Mars Rover. Really nice and humble couple and obviously incredibly smart. I've known them for years through the competitive sound quality niche of the car audio community and it's a VERY tight (and small) community where everyone seems to know everyone.
In 1988, while living in Johannesburg South Africa, a South African Airways 747SP regularly flew over my home as it approached the airport.
Brilliant video! I love the 747 but I think this baby one is the cutest! This video was so interesting from both an aviation and science perspective. thank you 😊
One thing that is interesting to me is that it was determined that for the infrared telescope, putting a big window in the aircraft instead of a door was apparently not optimal. Obviously it's a much better aerodynamic solution but I am guessing it isn't transparent enough from the point of view of the infrared telescope.
It’s amazing how humans can do good
Great observations Captain.
Just watched this video and the one about the last 747 built. Excellent content as always. If I may, you should continue doing once in a while more historic and unique aircraft content, for example the 747s modified as space shuttle carriers, the 747 Galactic Girl from Virgin Orbit, Samaritan’s Purse DC-8, the aircrafts flown by Orbis the Flying Eye Hospital, etc.
The Orbit Flying Eye Hospital was known as the last operator of the DC-10. The previous Flying
Eye Hospital plane was a retired DC-10 that was refurbished and modified for flying hospital use. Orbis retired that plane several years ago (today they use an ex-FedEx MD-10, the Boeing-built DC-10 variant) and donated it to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona, incidentally where SOFIA now calls home.
Sophia was here doing touch and goes yesterday, she has been here every month or so doing touch and goes for a few years.
Fresno Ca I always get great pics as it flies by my backyard
Well not a science channel you have presented a very scientifically literate and accurate description of this remarkable instrument.
This has been a better video than presented on some of the exclusively science channels I subscribe to.
Congratulations it's not easy being both technically accurate and scientifically complete.
Farewell, SOFIA! A fantastic instrument that did some amazing science!
I can only agree!
This was epic! Loved this soooo much ❤
So happy to hear that
Aw man the 747SP was my favorite 747. Its soooo cute!
2:23 Just look at it!
I called the SOFIA office. I wondered why the 747SP had not upgraded to the 747-8 wings and engines. In other words get the smallest 747 and put the elevator for the largest version of the 747 lifting it. This would increase range and altitude substantially. To my surprise they answered "We wanted that but the reply was to do this as cheaply as possible". SOFIA is a great piece of kit! I can only hope SOFIA-B might one day fly even higher and on longer observing sessions with these upgrades.
A 747-8 is unnecessary.
They might as well cover their 747SP in gold leaf. ✈️🔭🪐🌠
@@tumslucks9781
You didn’t understand what I said. I never said use the 747-8 for this mission.
@@tumslucks9781
The entire reason to use the 747 was to raise the telescope above as much atmosphere as possible. Using the wings and engine from the latest variant would give you much more altitude and a longer mission. From astronomical viewing that makes a huge difference.
I had a family member who worked on SOFIA. They told me this really cool story about how being able to take an observation from a specific location is super useful.
So not too long ago, Pluto was going to pass in front of a star and cast a shadow onto the earth. This eclipse shadow was only going to be (i think) 10s of miles wide and moving across the Indian ocean at roughly twice SOFIA's cruising speed. No other telescope could have taken this observation. They set their course so the eclipse shadow was going to overtake them, passing right over them. My family member told me about how the light data showed this textbook-perfect lighting curve, dimming down with a little spike in the middle as the eclipse shadow moved over them.
So frickin' cool! I'll miss SOFIA, but I definitely agree that the $1 000 000 per flight hour is a steep price to pay, even for the unique data it gathered.
I think it was Arrokoth instead, which was visited by New Horizons, which in turn also visited Pluto.
Totally forgot about the SP. As always, great video.
Thank you!
Every time I see a video of the SP all I can think of: it's SO CUTE! :)
I know!! It is cute!
JWSTs launch went so buttery smooth and precise it has enough fuel onboard for at least 15 years of science observation. NASA really got that one smack dead on!
I was a 6year old child when 747 took it's first flight. When the Pope visited Ireland in 1979, he arrived on an Aer Lingus 747 which was escorted by two Irish Air Corps Fouga Magisters in tight formation. It made for an amazing historical photograph.
we loved this one
Such a beautiful aircraft