This collection documents the development and testing of the f/4 achromatic lens system. The material includes test data, photographs, and drawings, as well as correspondence detailing Baker's successful fight to secure a patent on the lens system.
In the mid-1950s the Defense Department requested a system for achieving better quality photographic intelligence using smaller and lighter cameras on high-speed aircraft at high altitudes. In response Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation designed the KS-25 High Acuity Camera System, an integrated camera/lens system using a wide-angle 24' focal length lens capable of producing transparencies with resolutions of 140 lines/mm on a high contrast target or 90 lines/mm on a low contrast target. The lens for the KS-25 was designed by Dr. James G. Baker of Spica, Inc. and represented new optics technology to allow wide-angle viewing at daylight illumination on high speed cameras, yet capable of producing a resolution that was effectively diffraction limited.
Identifier
NASM.1986.0028
Creator
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation
Date
1956-1967
Provenance
Don Welzenbach, Gift, 1986, NASM.1986.0028.
Extent
2.57 Cubic feet (2 record center boxes)
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the development and testing of the f/4 achromatic lens system. The material includes test data, photographs, and drawings, as well as correspondence detailing Baker's successful fight to secure a patent on the lens system.
Arrangement note
Arrangement: (by type of material) 1) Contract specifications 2) Purchase orders and receipts 3) Correspondence 4) Patent applications 5) Camera operations manual 6) Performance and environmental tests final report 7) Lens drawings 8) Performance analysis printouts and calculations
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Restrictions
No restrictions on access
Citation
Fairchild KS-25 High Acuity Camera System Collection, NASM.1986.0028, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics
Fairchild KS-25 High Acuity Camera System Aerial photography Photographic reconnaissance systems Aeronautics, Military