Have A Look At SOFIA, World's Biggest Flying Observatory With A Mind-blowing Flight Cost Of N35.9M/Hr -Photos/Video

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a joint German-US space science project. The SOFIA, a 747SP-21 was originally built to carry passengers on ultra-long haul routes. Now it's used to carry the world's only flying infrared astronomy laboratory and flying a 2.5-metre infrared telescope.

NASA purchased the 747SP-21 on February 5, 1997. It took 13 years to remodel the plane, install new equipment, put in retractable fuselage doors and to test it.

It embarked on its first full science research flight on November 30, 2010 .

The airborne observatory performs astronomical observations in the infrared and submillimetre wavelengths, meaning,it observes light in the infrared spectrum that's not visible to the Unclad eye.