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EDWARDS AFB, Calif., Feb. 9, 2007/Satnews Daily/
— NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has awarded a contract to L-3
Communications Integrated Systems, L.P., of Waco, Texas, for continued
developmental and engineering work on the Stratospheric Observatory for
Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
The cost-plus-award-fee contract could be worth up to $26 million over a
five-year period if all options are exercised. The contract takes effect
Feb. 9, 2007, with a 23-month base period extending through Dec. 31,
2008. Three one-year option periods could extend the agreement from Jan.
1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2011.
NASA said the tasks that remain for completion of the SOFIA airborne
observatory platform involve two major parts, the Airborne System and
the Cavity Door Drive System. L-3 Communications will be responsible for
completing development and testing of the Airborne System, including
modification, fabrication, installation, integration, and verification
of various systems to meet SOFIA mission requirements. In addition, L-3
is also tasked with providing engineering support and technical
representation to NASA as necessary to support transition from
development to operations.
The SOFIA program includes a high-altitude airborne observatory
consisting of a 2.5-meter (100 inch) infrared telescope mounted in a
cavity in the rear fuselage of a highly modified Boeing 747SP jetliner.
Scientific instruments mounted in the observatory will be capable of
celestial observations ranging from visible light through the
sub-millimeter far-infrared spectrum.
SOFIA is being developed jointly by NASA and the
Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center).
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