The 35th annual conference on Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems 2025 in Görlitz, Germany

During 783 scientific flights, SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy of DLR and NASA, collected much scientific data, now available through IRSA at IPAC. After the end of flight operations in September 2022, during one year of post-operations, only a limited data reprocessing of SOFIA Observing Cycles 5 to 9 could be achieved. To complete the job, the SOFIA Data Center (SDC) was funded through DLR for a five-year post-operational phase starting in July 2024.

The SDC aims to provide reprocessed and improved Far-Infrared SOFIA science data in a VO-compatible astronomical archive and the technical and operational engineering data of the SOFIA telescope in the University data repository DaRUS. We expect to work with the entire astronomical community to promote the exploitation and publication of valuable Mid- and Far-Infrared data, establish a powerful scientific resource for the post-mission phase, and bridge the gap until the next space- or stratospheric FIR observatory becomes available.

To this end the current focus is on several initiatives that include updating the Python based instrument pipelines, building of a new pipeline for converting and plate solving of the telescope's guide camera images for pointing reconstruction and scientific exploitation, and preparing a new kind of calibration for atmospheric water vapor for every flight. The FIFI-LS instrument pipeline, will serve as a trailblazer for data of the other three instruments EXES, FORCAST, and HAWC+, that the SDC will focus on, while the GREAT data is being reprocessed by the University of Cologne. All of the available data is being assessed for ingesting both, raw- and processed data into the DaCHS VO-publishing infrastructure. To implement the SDC web portal for the astronomical community, we are planning to use Firefly that also powers IRSA. Eventually the entire archive will be transferred to the German Astrophysics Center (DZA).