Scaled Technology Works (STW) has won a $1 million Raytheon contract to provide the composite aperture for NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
SOFIA is a 2.5m (8ft)-diameter infrared airborne telescope which will be flown on a Boeing 747SP to investigate star formation and the origin of galaxies.
STW, a subsidiary of Precision Castparts and sister company of Scaled Composites, will develop the composite structure to enclose the interior of the telescope chamber when the cavity is opened for observations.
The bay is being cut out of the side of an ex-United Airlines Boeing 747SP at Raytheon's Aircraft Integration Systems Waco site in Texas. "It will cover the aft end of the opening of the telescope bay, forming an air dam between the telescope and the aft [non-pressure] bulkhead," says STW business development manager Paul Oppenheim.
The unit will cover the telescope and the 20í to 60í arc through which it will be able to travel, he says. The Raytheon-designed unit has been tested on a mock-up Section 46 from another former United 747SP. STW is to deliver the structure by the end of the third quarter.
Raytheon, under contract to the Universities Space Research Association for design, integration and certification of the SOFIA aircraft, expects to hold a flight readiness review in the first quarter of 2002, with an operational readiness review six months later.
The high altitude cruise capability of the 747SP will allow the SOFIA to be flown at operating altitudes between 39,000ft (11,900m) and 41,000ft, with observation times of more than six hours.
Total observation time per year is expected to be more than 960h over an estimated 160-plus flights, while the observatory is expected to be operational until 2025.
Source: Flight International
