Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Kuiper Airborne Observatory
The Gerard P. Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) was a national
facility operated by NASA to support research in infrared
astronomy. The observation platform was a highly modified C-141A
jet transport aircraft with a range of 6000 nautical miles,
capable of conducting research operations up to 45,000 feet (14
km). The KAO's telescope was a conventional Cassegrain reflector
with a 36-inch (91.5 cm) aperture, designed primarily for
observations in the 1 to 500 μm spectral range. Its flight
capability allowed it to rise above almost all of the water
vapor in the earth's atmosphere (allowing observations of
infrared radiation, which is blocked before reaching ground-
based facilities), as well as travel to almost any point on the
earth's surface for an observation. The KAO made several major
discoveries, including the first sightings of the rings of
Uranus in 1977 and a definitive identification of an atmosphere
on Pluto in 1988. The KAO was used to stud