The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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51
Secret NOFORN
Chapter 2
his research associate duties at Harvard and his service on go,vem­
ment advisory bodies, Baker established a small firm known as Spica,
Incorporated, on 31 January 1955.
The A-1 camera system consisted of two 24-inch K-38 framing
cameras. One was mounted vertically and photographed a 17.2° swath
beneath the aircraft onto a roll of 9.5-inch film. The second K-38 was
placed in a rocking mount so that it alternately photographed the left
oblique and right oblique out to 36.5° onto separate rolls of 9.5-inch
film. The film supplies unwound in opposite directions in ordler to
minimize their effect on the balance of the aircraft. Both cameras
used standard Air Force 24-inch focal-length lenses adjusted for max­
imum acuity by Baker. The development of the special rocking mount
by Perkin-Elmer's Dr. Roderic M. Scott was a major factor in neduc­
ing the size and weight of the A- I system, because the mount pro­
vided broad transverse coverage with a single lens, ending the need
for two separate cameras.
16
•• OSA History. chap. I. annt!x 3, pp. 1-3 (TS Co1kword).
A-1 camera
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