Special NASA airplane passes flight test

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, has passed the first phase of its experimental flight tests.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said the tests conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California confirmed the structural integrity of the modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a 10-foot-wide, 19-ton infrared telescope.

The telescope peers through a 16-foot-high door cut into SOFIA's 747 fuselage. During the initial test, the aircraft flew five times with the external door closed to evaluate the plane's aerodynamics, structural integrity, stability and control and handling qualities.

"SOFIA is already a technological marvel, and will soon be a powerful tool for studying the birth and evolution of planets, stars, and galaxies," said Alan Stern, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "The completion of its closed door testing phase is a major milestone on the way to SOFIA's inaugural science flights next year."

The aircraft now will undergo installation and integration of the remaining elements of the observatory before open-door test flights begin later this year.