 The design was originally envisioned as a telescope, but it was decided a telescope of that size would not fit the market they were aiming for, since it would be too heavy and expensive.The Questar 3.5” entered commercial production in 1954 with ads for the model run in many astronomy, science, photography, and nature related magazines such as "National Geographic", "Scientific American" and "Sky & Telescope".The ads focused on the telescope's mechanical and optical design, educational value for children, ease of use, and adaptations as a spotting scope and telephoto lens.