On Dec. 18th 2009, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), flew in a modified Boeing 747 at 15,000 feet for one hour and 19 minutes. For two minutes of that time, the door by the telescope was wide open.

The 98-inch infrared telescope is ultimately destined to fly at 40,000 feet and study a range of astronomical objects over its expected 20-year lifetime. Those objects include other galaxies and the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy; the interstellar medium, especially the building blocks of life it contains; the formation of stars and planets; and comets and asteroids in our solar system.

The veil of water vapor enveloping Earth acts like an invisible brick wall to the infrared energy from cosmic objects SOFIA wants to see. SOFIA solves this problem by viewing the heavens from "above the veil" - something ground-based scopes can't do. Like space-based telescopes, SOFIA will collect infrared energy before it reaches Earth.

The telescope rests on big shock mounts that isolate the mechanical vibrations of the plane from it. And on the back edge of the cavity there's a ramp that catches the airflow entering the cavity and redirects it back over the ramp and out of the cavity.

The test was an overwhelming success with further testing to take place in the near future.