The SOFIA Observatory at the Start of Routine Science Operations : Mission capabilities and performance

Abstract

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has recently concluded a set of engineering flights for Observatory performance evaluation. These in-flight opportunities are viewed as a first comprehensive assessment of the Observatory's performance and are used to guide future development activities, as well as to identify additional Observatory upgrades. Pointing stability was evaluated, including the image motion due to rigid-body and flexible-body telescope modes as well as possible aero-optical image motion. We report on recent improvements in pointing stability by using an active mass damper system installed on the telescope. Measurements and characterization of the shear layer and cavity seeing, as well as image quality evaluation as a function of wavelength have also been performed. Additional tests targeted basic Observatory capabilities and requirements, including pointing accuracy, chopper evaluation and imager sensitivity. This paper reports on the data collected during these flights and presents current SOFIA Observatory performance and characterization.

arXiv comment13 pages, 13 figure, and 2 tables; accepted by ApJS

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• The Extraordinary Outburst in the Massive Protostellar System NGC6334I-MM1: Strong Increase in Mid-Infrared Continuum Emission
• Probing multiphase gas in local massive elliptical galaxies via multiwavelength observations
• Circumstellar ammonia in oxygen-rich evolved stars
• SOFIA observations of far-IR fine-structure lines in galaxies to measure metallicity
• The Sub-millimeter Rotational Spectrum of Ethylene Glycol up to 890 GHz and Application to ALMA Band 10 Spectral Line Data of NGC 6334I
• High-Resolution SOFIA/EXES Spectroscopy of ${\mathrm{SO}}_2$ Gas in the Massive Young Stellar Object MonR2 IRS3: Implications for the Sulfur Budget
• The infrared view of dust and molecules around V4334 Sgr (Sakurai's Object): a 20-year retrospective
• Measuring chemical abundances in AGN from infrared nebular lines: HII-CHI-Mistry-IR for AGN
• SOFIA FIFI-LS Observations of Sgr B1: Ionization Structure and Sources of Excitation
• The Close AGN Reference Survey (CARS). Discovery of a global [CII] 158 $\mu$m line excess in AGN HE1353-1917
• Local Analogs to High-Redshift Galaxies: I. Characterization of Dust Emission and Star Formation History
• Sagittarius B1 -- A Patchwork of H II Regions and PhotoDissociation Regions
• SOFIA Infrared Spectrophotometry of Comet C/2012 K1 (Pan-STARRS)
• SOFIA {\it FORCAST} Photometry of 12 Extended Green Objects in the Milky Way
• Magnetic Field Uniformity Across the GF 9-2 YSO, L1082C Dense Core, and GF 9 Filamentary Dark Cloud
• SOFIA/HAWC+ detection of a gravitationally lensed starburst galaxy at $z$ = 1.03