By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Lockheed Martin is competing with three other companies for a NASA contract to operate a flying astronomical observatory.
Called SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is at its simplest a large telescope that flies high in the stratosphere to view the universe in the infrared region of the spectrum.
"This will be the largest telescope ever flown on an aircraft, and we're looking forward to having an opportunity to put it all together and get it flying," said Milt Whitten, Lockheed Martin program manager.
Rep. Anna Eshoo led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in calling on the Clinton administration to locate SOFIA at Moffett Federal Airfield.
SOFIA will feature an aircraft equipped with a special telescope to perform research in astrophysics. Scientists will use SOFIA to gain a better understanding of star formation, the solar system and other galaxies, as well as to enhance knowledge of Earth's evolution.
SOFIA could bring the surrounding community up to $800 million over its 20-year lifetime--$200 million in initial development costs and $30 million in annual operating expenses, Eshoo said.
The bids by Lockheed Martin and United Airlines to develop, maintain and operate SOFIA would base the aircraft at Moffett. Other bids would place the project in Texas or Arizona. All four bids would use a 747 aircraft as a platform for the SOFIA telescope.
NASA officials said a decision would be made within the next few months.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 4, 1996.
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