PDA

View Full Version : NASA 747SP in Christchurch.


Jaryd stock
20th July 2013, 10:29 PM
Pulled from NASA's media center.


SOFIA Southern Deployment Fact Sheet
NASA’s airborne observatory, SOFIA, is scheduled to make 9 science flights during its three-week deployment to Christchurch, New Zealand (July 12-Aug. 2, 2013).
SOFIA will deploy with approximately 60 staff members (ground and flight crew, mission operations staff, science team).
The observatory will depart the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Palmdale, Calif., on July 12 and fly to Honolulu for a flight crew change, then on to Christchurch, New Zealand.
During SOFIA’s Southern Deployment, the observatory will exclusively use the German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT), a dual channel, infrared heterodyne spectrometer. GREAT was developed by a consortium of German science institutions, led by Rolf Guesten and Stefan Heyminck from the Max- Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany.
GREAT works like a very high frequency radio receiver detecting light waves rather than light particles. Observations are made between 60 and 200 microns in three different frequencies.

Radi K
20th July 2013, 11:50 PM
You can track it here:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA747

Oliver Gigacz
21st July 2013, 01:37 AM
You Christchurch spotters are lucky, would love to see an SP in MEL.

David Ramsay
21st July 2013, 06:52 PM
Saw it this morning but couldn't get any photos.

Jarden S
22nd July 2013, 01:36 AM
It is a 1977 built an ex Pan Am 747SP then later operated by United. Expected to be visiting CHC during winter for the next 20 years.
Another story on its deployment:


http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8920940/Nasa-plane-ready-to-explore-Chch-skies

Torin Wilson
22nd July 2013, 06:51 PM
I love how the guy in the picture looks like an older version of 'Doc' in Back To The Future !

Radi K
14th June 2015, 10:24 AM
NASA747 enroute back to CHC as we speak.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA747