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• Exceprts from August 20 e-mail message by USRA Mission Operations Director Patrick Waddell, currently serving as Observatory Test Director.
  
  
• Excerpts from Sept. 10 e-mail message by Kaiser Adeni, NASA SOFIA Deputy Chief Engineer and NASA Waco on-site manager, to all the personnel working on SOFIA in Waco.

Exceprts from August 20 e-mail message by USRA Mission Operations Director Patrick Waddell, currently serving as Observatory Test Director.

Congratulations go out to many of the SOFIA participants for their hard efforts to get our first few celestial photons onto the 4 imagers currently mounted on the TA [Telescope Assembly].

During the cloudy periods we acquired 3 separate sets of flexure data: 1) on the HIPO [High-speed optical photometer] precision central source; 2) the reference spots for the Shack-Hartmann lenslet array and 3) the artificial star that comes from an aperture within HIPO that reflects off a spherical button currently mounted to the SMM [Secondary Mirror Mechanism]. Interestingly, the artificial star from the HIPO illumination of the spherical button was seen also in the FPI [Focal Plane Imager].

The very cloudy weather was so bad that it would seem that little could be accomplished. But whenever the opportunity arose, people would spring into action to use the precious little time available. I would guess that we saw Polaris on the imagers for less than an hour spread out over 4 or 5 different "events" during the approx. 8 hour night. Nonetheless, the folks from Kayser-Threde [German telescope contractor] were able to determine the proper flips and rotations of the FPI readout and reoriented the readout so it conformed to the WFI [Wide-Field Imager] and FFI [Fine Field Imager].

A few moments were spent learning the motion axes for manipulating Polaris into the center of the HIPO field of view. Then, light from Polaris was sent through the Shack-Hartmann array.

Many thanks to the L-3 folks for getting us out on the ramp and powered up so efficiently. We found that Polaris was within about 0.5 degrees of the center of travel for the TA Fine Drive. John Fitch [L3 SOFIA project director] examined weather websites all night long. He and his team gave us the maximum time possible on the sky, yet had us safely covered and in the barn when needed.

Patrick

Excerpts from Sept. 10 e-mail message by Kaiser Adeni, NASA SOFIA Deputy Chief Engineer and NASA Waco on-site manager, to all the personnel working on SOFIA in Waco:

I would like to begin by thanking all of you for your dedicated efforts and teamwork this summer and for successfully accomplishing our established objectives laid out at the beginning of the TA reactivation period. Recalling what [SOFIA Program Manager] Carol Carroll said last week at the BBQ dinner in Waco and I would like to paraphrase - a special thank you goes out to all
your spouses, significant others, and families for their sacrifice and sharing you with the SOFIA project.

We had two objectives to meet this summer. Our primary objective was to functionally integrate the TA [Telescope Assembly] into the aircraft, perform 4 hazard control verifications, align the optics, perform the rap-test [system response to mechanical impulses], conduct MCS-TA [Mission Control System - Telescope Assembly] interface tests, perform sky observations using HIPO [High-speed optical photometer] to characterize the performance of the TA, and complete the remaining mechanical installations of the TA structure. We met all our objectives except for the mechanical installations, which were deferred due to the unavailability of key personnel from MAN [German contractor].

Our secondary objective was to ensure that adequate TA operations training took place in order for non-TA development personnel to operate the TA. We also met this objective when USRA/NASA SPO trainees demonstrated (in the absence of MAN personnel) that they could rotate the TA beyond the normal operational range and complete critical installations by using the SOFIA DCC [Diagnostic and Configuration Computer]. Further, the USRA/NASA SPO
trainees also operated the TA using the EGSE [Electrical Ground Support Equipment] after KT [German contractor] personnel departed for Germany last week.

And we did all of the above on schedule!

All in all, it was a fruitful summer and it was my pleasure working with success oriented people like you. Personally, the best moment of the summer was when I walked out on the ramp on our first night on the sky (August 18) and SOFIA was sitting out there with the power and cooling carts humming away, the telescope peering out the cavity, and the bright moon as a back drop lighting up the SOFIA fuselage. It is very difficult to explain what it means but it sure brought back good memories of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.

Thanks again for your efforts, dedication, teamwork, and commitment on reaching this milestone.

Regards,

Kaiser