A measurement of the K-S lifetime

A measurement of the K_S lifetime is presented using data recorded by the NA48 experiment at the CERN-SPS during 1998 and 1999. The K_S lifetime is derived from the ratio of decay time distributions in simultaneous, collinear K_S and K_L beams, giving a result which is approximately independent of the detector acceptance and with reduced systematic errors. The result obtained is tau_S=(0.89598 +- 0.00048 +- 0.00051)x10^(-10) s, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic.