Documents / FOIA release
This is a CIA History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, written in 1992 and approved for release in 2011. It covers the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974 and its two aircraft, the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It follows their development, the overflights of the Soviet Union, the downing of Francis Gary Powers in 1960, and later operations. One section is titled "U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK."
“Burbank”8 pages
Sec NOFORN Chapt 281 ' n OSA History, chap. 20. p. 26 (TS Codcword) •OXCART Story." p. 4 (S). tloc\ 005653421 UNCLASSIFIED weight, Kelly Johnson did not attempt to insulate the interior of the aircraft. The pilot would therefore have to wear a type of space suit with its own cooling, pressure control. oxygen supply, and other necessities for survival. DESIGNING THE OXCART'S CAMERAS Providing cameras for the A-12 posed a number of unique problems. In late 1959, OXCART managers asked Perkin-Elmer, Eastman Kodak, and Elycon to develop three different photographic systems for the new aircraft. These cameras would provide a ran g e of photo g -raphyfromhigh-ground-resolutionstereotoextremely-high-resolu- tion spottin g data. The Perkin-Elmer (P-E) entry. known as the Type-I camera, was a high-ground-resolution general stereo camera usin g an U4.0 18-inch lens and 6.6-inch film. It produced pairs of photo g raphs covering a swath 71 miles wide with an approximately 30-percent stereo overlap. . _- The system had a 5,000-foot film supply and was able to resolve 140 lines per millimeter and provide a ground resolution of 12 inches. To meet severe design constraints in the areas of size, weight, thermal environment, desired photographic resolution, and coverage, Perkin Elmer's Dr. Roderick M. Scott employed concepts never be- fore used in camera systems. These included the use of a reflecting cube rather than a prism for the scanner, a concentric film supply and takeup system to minimize weight shift. a constant-velocity film transport that provided for the contiguous placement of stereo images on one piece of film, and airbars for the film transport and takeup systems. 23 Eastman Kodak's entry, called the Type-II camera, was a high-convergent stereo device using a 21-inch lens and 8-inch film. It produced pairs of photographs covering a swath 60 miles wide with an approximately 30-percent stereo overlap. It had an 8,400-foot film supply and was able to resolve 105 lines per millimeter and provide a ground resolution of 17 inches. (0129581.61d1111>1045Yrs IS1 UNCLASSIFIED
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.