NASA-ARC 36 inch airborne infrared telescope

A 36 in. aperture telescope is being developed for installation aboard a NASA-Lockheed C-141A aircraft. This airborne observatory will permit observation of infrared emission at altitudes above 45,000 ft above much of the infrared-absorbing atmospheric water vapor. The telescope will look through a movable open port in the aircraft fuselage. A porous spoiler, upstream from the open port, will attenuate pressure disturbances and permit operation at ambient temperatures and pressures without an obscuring window. The telescope's entire structure is supported by a 16 in. spherical air bearing, which effectively isolates it from angular aircraft motions. This air bearing support, with inertial stabilization and star tracking, will permit net line of sight stability of better than 2 arcsec rms.