<title>SOFIA mission operations</title>

Abstract

The SOFIA Airborne Observatory will operate a 2.5 m aperture telescope with the goal of obtaining over 960 successful science hours per year at a nominal altitude of 12.5 km and covering a wavelength range from 0.3 mm to 1.6 mm. The observatory platform is comprised of a Boeing 747SP with numerous significant modifications. The ground and flight mission operations architectures and plans are tailored to keep the telescope emissivity low and achieve high observing efficiency.