Validation of Data Reduction Interactive Pipeline for FORCAST on SOFIA

The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a heavily modified Boeing 747SP aircraft equipped with 2.5 meter reflecting telescope. Among the suite of instruments onboard is the Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST). FORCAST features two cameras for short (5-25 microns) and long (25-40 microns) wavelength detection. Making infrared observations in these wavelengths presents a challenge because the telescope and sky emit background radiation magnitudes brighter than the object of interest. Because of this, the raw FORCAST data must be corrected and reduced. The Data Reduction Interactive Pipeline (DRIP) was developed to process all FORCAST data using IDL procedures. Each step of the data reduction and calibration is saved for graphic interface. On all raw data, DRIP cleans bad pixels, applies droop and non-linearity correction, does background subtraction, and jailbar removal. It can optionally do image rectification and combine chop/nod groups. Our current mission, in collaboration with the Division of Planetary Sciences group, is to validate the DRIP output and ensure that the highest quality data is provided for imaging and the astronomical community