[ Sound Effects ]
Hi my name is April Leachman and I teach
at East Paulding Middle School
in beautiful Dallas Georgia and this is NASA Now.
[ Sound Effects ]
Hi I'm Dan.
You're about to see one of NASA's coolest tools
in expanding our knowledge of the universe.
It's called SOFIA and you won't believe what this aircraft can
do and the incredible technology inside.
That's ahead, first here's what's happening at NASA Now.
[ Sound Effects ]
The James Webb Space Telescope gets its wings
and is one step closer to lift-off.
Scheduled for launch in 2018,
the James Webb Space telescope will soon be ready for testing,
as the assembly of its support structure wings is now complete.
The telescope's wings are part of a massive backplane
that will hold the structure's primary mirrors in place.
The wings will also allow the telescope's 18 Beryllium mirrors
to fold up and fit into a 16 foot fairing on a rocket.
Once in space, at one million miles away from Earth,
the 14,000 plus pound telescope will deploy; reaching the height
of a four story building.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the largest
and most powerful telescope in space.
Using infrared light, it will allow astronomers to see
through dust and gas clouds.
This will help to provide a detailed view
of the most distant, never before seen,
objects in our universe.
[ Sound Effects ]
In today's program we'll talk
with NASA research pilot Manny Antimisiaris
who flies the world's largest airborne observatory.
The aircraft houses an infrared telescope capable
of making observations that are impossible even for the largest
and highest ground-based telescopes.
Manny will share the awesome responsibility that comes
with flying this one of a kind aircraft.
He'll also discuss the amazing features of the telescope.
[ Music ]
SOFIA is a modified 747 SP.
Over a ten-year period the aircraft was stripped down,
modified, cut up.
A big giant telescope
that weighs approximately 45,000 pounds was inserted
in the back half of the aircraft.
A lot of instrumentation
and computers assigned to that airplane.
And our job is to basically fly
above the earth's atmosphere anywhere from 35 to 45,000 feet;
and the door opens in flight,
and the telescope gets a very clear picture an infrared
picture of the objects that they're looking for.
[ Music ]
Primarily the advantage is with the telescope is that we are
above 98 percent to 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere
and moisture; and it gives the astronomers a very clear picture
of deep space.
We're looking at the formation of planets, the formation
of galaxies, the formation of new stars;
but we also have the capability, which is unique to SOFIA,
of doing what we call an occultation.
That's when a star and a planet line up and the shadow is cast
on the Earth's surface.
We have the capability to fly to where that shadow is going
to fly over us and capture that image.
We actually did that last year, where a star in Pluto aligned
and the shadow was cast over the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
It was only a 120 second window.
We were able to fly out there,
capture that image, and then fly home.
That's a capability that unique to SOFIA and no other platform,
even Hubble doesn't have that capability.
[ Music ]
The primary objective is varied.
It depends on which astronomer is onboard
and which instrument is installed on SOFIA.
We have the capability to install several different kinds
of instrumentation onboard the telescope; and it depends
on the objective of the flight,
as defined by the primary investigator.
Sometimes we're looking at near planets.
Other times we're looking at galaxies that could be 30
or 40,000 light years away.
The only thing normal about SOFIA is it's never normal.
Everything is different every night.
[ Music ]
I'm the bus driver.
I'm in charge of the aircraft.
I'm in charge of aircraft safety.
We work in conjunction with the team downstairs.
This is where team cooperation happens.
We're in charge of safety of the aircraft.
The mission directors and the astronomers are
in charge of the mission.
[ Music ]
It's actually perfectly safe.
If you look at the length of the fuselage, the telescope sits
in the back half of the airplane.
We actually put a new pressure bulkhead just
in forward of that telescope.
So the front half of SOFIA is actually a normal airplane,
and the back half is open to the atmosphere
and completely unpressurized from takeoff
through landing, the entire flight.
There is no pressurization system back there.
So basically our passenger compartment was made smaller
to accommodate the telescope in the back half of the airplane.
As far as from a pilot standpoint, SOFIA flies just
like a normal 747, which is really incredible when you think
about the size of the opening on the side of the aircraft
that is housing the telescope.
I can actually stand you on the main deck, tell you exactly
when that door is opening;
and you can't hear it, you can't feel it.
There is no change in characteristics to the airplane.
So my hat is off to the fluid dynamics guys
that did their computations.
When the door is open, when the door is closed,
there is no difference
in handling qualities of the airplane.
[ Music ]
Chase your dreams.
If you want to do it, chase your dreams.
And for NASA especially, math and science.
I mean, it comes down to that, math and science.
If you're not getting it,
your teacher's job is to help you get it.
Get the answers you need.
Get the help you need.
That's what they're there for.
They're not there just to assign homework.
They're there to help you out.
[ Sound Effects ]
Now that you've had a brief glimpse of SOFIA,
here's how you can find out even more fascinating facts
about the telescope on board.
Teachers, here's a chance to open your student's minds
to the wide spectral world of infrared.
Look for Cool Cosmos under the extension activity
for this program on the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus.
Well that's it for NASA NOW.
Be sure to visit our facebook page and leave a comment.
We'll see you next time on NASA NOW.
[ Sound Effects ]
NASA NOW comes to you from the Virtual Campus
at NASA Explorer schools.
[ Music ]