Two of the six teachers selected to fly on NASA's flying observatory are from California.
Marita Beard, of Branham High School in San Jose, and Kathleen Fredette, of Desert Willow Intermediate School in Palmdale, will be on the modified Boeing 747SP. The flights out of Palmdale are scheduled through June.
The plane -- called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy -- is fitted with a 100-inch infrared telescope. It's used to study black holes and star formations.
More than 70 teachers flew on NASA's previous flying observatory, the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The program was in operation from 1991 to 1995.
"That program had long-lasting, positive effects on both the teachers and their students," said John Gagosian, SOFIA program executive at agency headquarters in Washington.
The six teachers selected for the SOFIA program submitted applications that included how they plan to take their training and experience back to their classrooms.
The program is managed from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards. The SOFIA aircarft is based at Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale.
NASA will conduct a video chat Thursday about the program. Click here for details.