A study of the average upper atmospheric conditions has been carried out in order to optimize the scientific return from SOFIA. By examination of atmospheric data from satellite missions, we found that at typical SOFIA flight altitudes (between 37,000 and 45,000 ft), it can be an advantage to fly north, as the water vapor overburden and the frequency of cloud occurrence is less than if the flights were centered above Moffett Field, CA, which will be the base for SOFIA. It has also been shown that for certain science projects, the amount of time on target can be considerably extended.
Optimized flight planning for SOFIA
Airborne Telescope Systems ; 2000 ; Munich,Germany
Proc. SPIE ; 4014
2000-06-20
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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