Small movie cameras like this one made by D.B. Millikin were placed inside parachute-equipped capsules to document the rocket staging process during development of the Saturn launch vehicle. The camera capsules ejected from the vehicle and filmed for nearly a minute to give engineers a closer look at the success or failure of staging. Images from later Saturn V flights, such as Apollo 4 and 11, are often used in documentaries on the space program, and show the first stages of the rocket falling back to Earth.
For display purposes, this camera has a wedge-shaped bracket on one side (for mounting to a display) and a Plexiglas cover on one side to allow viewing of the filming apparatus.
NASA transferred this camera to the Museum in 1976.
This object is on display in James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.