Maybe I'm airing some bit of dirty astro laundry here, but on my last looking at SOFIA (a decade ago?), it was not a very cost-efficient or preferred option com

Maybe I'm airing some bit of dirty astro laundry here, but on my last looking at SOFIA (a decade ago?), it was not a very cost-efficient or preferred option compared to just sending a NASA SMEX (satellite) mission up with similar instruments? Is that still the case? I.e. for the amount you spend flying the plane around, and the increase in collecting area needed compared to going all the way to space (much smaller mirror if you just go to space), we could've gotten more by sending a 30cm satellite into orbit. Is that right? Or am I out of date?