U2 Viewfinder at 70,000 Feet

The U-2 spy plane carries such an effective camera that pilots believe it can read a newspaper’s headlines from the air. Even 60 years after its first flight, the aircraft still carries a giant wet-film camera with nearly two-miles of film.

This picture shows the cockpit viewfinder in an ER-2 plane, operated by NASA. The airplane, a version of the U-2 used for scientific research, was capable of looking at a controlled fire burning near Flagstaff, Arizona, from nearly 70,000 feet. Such a powerful camera has not only come handy for military missions. It has also been useful for researching climate change and flying over hurricanes...