MPS Seminar: SOFIA - past, present, and future (H. Zinnecker)

SOFIA - past, present, and future Abstract:SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, has reached full operational capability in April 2014 and has since undergone a major overhaul at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg. Cycle 3 observing time has been awarded and some 80 flights will be carried out in 2015, including a southern deployment to New Zealand. In this talk we will summarize the current status of SOFIA, its instrument suite, and some of the recent science highlights of Cycle 1 and 2 (e.g. star formation and astrochemistry). After a difficult year in terms of NASA support, SOFIA is getting back into gear poised to continue delivering unique mid- and far-infrared science, in the post-Spitzer and post-Herschel era.