sofia_nz_2015flitecamLogo IR Lab

In June, 2015, FLITECAM took a
trip to the southern Hemisphere.

It was part of the New Zealand deployment of SOFIA, and used with two other instruments to image the Pluto Occultation on
June 30, 2015.

Through hard work and determination of so many, the mission was a resounding success.

These web pages document the mission photographically. But they are far from all-inclusive.

Except where noted,
All content & images
Copyright © 2015
Chris Johnson
UCLA Infrared Lab

Day Three - Adversity


Work starts in earnest today. Regular fills of cryogenic instruments are routine procedures. Here -- Ken, Sarah, and Paul fill up FLITECAM with liquid helium.


HIPO is moved across the room to be closer to FLITECAM in preparation for occultation timing tests.


Ted and Tom Bida from Lowell perform a Nitrogen fill on HIPO. HIPO is smaller than FLITECAM, so it fills and cools much quicker.


Spur of the moment, I get a rare opportunity to head up to the tower again to see SOFIA get off the ground with FORCAST.


The bad weather a memory, SOFIA takes off down the runway on a gorgeous evening.


Back in the PI Lab, our detector control computer, MKIR, refused to cooperate and work in the very cold conditions. After coaxing it with extra heat to no effect, we decided to test with the spare. The spare worked perfectly, without supplementary heat - success!