From press release, 28 June 2014 The 747SP – 'SP' stands for 'Special Performance' – has a much shorter fuselage but the same power; these aircraft can therefore fly significantly higher than other versions, at altitudes of up to between 12 and 14 kilometres.
I think the program's days are numbered. From what I hear, there is very little support for SOFIA within the astronomy community. It doesn't do much science, what it does is not high value, and it costs a lot of money. Keeping a big four-engine jet flying requires a lot of people and fuel, and that's an expense that other observatories don't have. The primary problem this time has been that the administration simply tried to kill it without: A-explaining why they wanted to kill it, and B-getting community support for their action.* There are ways to do both of those things and it would not surprise me to see them make that effort soon. It may take a few years in the meantime to do that.*This kinda stuff happens all the time. Somebody, maybe NASA, maybe the White House, simply decides to do something and never bothers to actually set the stage. They think that they don't need to explain what they're doing or seek allies for their actions. Look at the 2010 rollout of the FY2011 budget which killed Constellation, Orion, Ares I and V, etc. They found themselves scrambling after the fact to try and explain what they were trying to achieve, and by that time they didn't really have any allies, only enemies. It's just rather amazing that this keeps happening. The steps are simple: have somebody (like the president) give a speech, issue a white paper explaining the policy, and maybe commission a study that will hopefully support your actions. Prepare the battlefield before you open fire.
Quote from: Blackstar on 12/15/2014 04:15 pmI think the program's days are numbered. From what I hear, there is very little support for SOFIA within the astronomy community. It doesn't do much science, what it does is not high value, and it costs a lot of money. Keeping a big four-engine jet flying requires a lot of people and fuel, and that's an expense that other observatories don't have. [...]If that's the case what was the point of the program in the first place. Someone at some point must have thought it was a worthwhile idea.
I think the program's days are numbered. From what I hear, there is very little support for SOFIA within the astronomy community. It doesn't do much science, what it does is not high value, and it costs a lot of money. Keeping a big four-engine jet flying requires a lot of people and fuel, and that's an expense that other observatories don't have. [...]
If that's the case what was the point of the program in the first place. Someone at some point must have thought it was a worthwhile idea.