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U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

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The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense and a member of the United States Intelligence Community that designs, builds, launches, and operates reconnaissance satellites for the U.S. federal government. It provides satellite intelligence, including signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), to various government agencies like the NSA, NGA, and DIA. The NRO partners with organizations such as the U.S. Space Force, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX, and its activities include developing advanced satellite technology and launching assets into orbit. Keywords associated with the NRO include: reconnaissance satellites, intelligence, national security, and space-based surveillance.

gov defenseFounded 1961
United States
www.nro.gov/About-NRO/
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All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.

SILENTBARKER 2/NROL-118 is a joint National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force mission to provide space domain awareness for the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.

GeneralValue 3.8Oct 31, 2023Space Force assigns 21 national security missions to ULA and SpaceX

The NROL-77, NROL-73, NROL-56, NROL-109, and NROL-100 missions are National Reconnaissance Office missions.

GeneralValue 3.5Oct 31, 2023Space Force assigns 21 national security missions to ULA and SpaceX

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) oversaw the procurement and operation of American reconnaissance satellites.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 2.5Oct 16, 2023Roads not taken in satellite photo-reconnaissance: Part 1, the 1960s

The National Reconnaissance Office builds and operates an unknown number of classified satellites that collect intelligence for U.S. policymakers, military commands, and other organizations.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0Oct 10, 2023More eyes in the sky: NRO building new satellites to deliver ‘10 times more signals and images’

Capella Space received a Commercial Radar Contract from the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 4.0Oct 3, 2023Capella Space Announces Move to Larger Colorado Facility to Accommodate Accelerating Business

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) rejected the development of a dedicated crisis reconnaissance satellite in 1969.

PlanGovernanceValue 3.2Oct 2, 2023Crisis in space: The 1973 Yom Kippur War and “crisis reconnaissance”

Kevin Keating previously worked at the National Reconnaissance Office and most recently at the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science and Technology.

GovernanceValue 2.5Sep 21, 2023The Aerospace Corporation announces significant organizational changes

Silent Barker is a joint mission of the National Reconnaissance Office and the U.S. Space Force placed into orbit by an Atlas V on 2023-09-08 to monitor satellites in the geostationary belt.

GeneralCapabilityValue 4.5Sep 21, 2023Space Force revising commercial space strategy to make it “actionable”

Maxar won a 10-year, $3,200,000,000 contract from the National Reconnaissance Office in 2022 to provide satellite imagery.

RelationshipsFinancialValue 5.0Sep 20, 2023Maxar Technologies reorganizes as two separate businesses

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) collaborated with the Air Force to evolve MOL into a reconnaissance satellite carrying the DORIAN camera system.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.3Sep 18, 2023Live, from orbit: the Manned Orbiting Laboratory’s top-secret film-readout system

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office and the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command lifted off on 2023-09-10 at 8:47 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

PlanGeneralValue 4.5Sep 10, 2023United Launch Alliance’s successful launch for joint national security mission

The SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 mission is a joint National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command capability to improve space domain awareness.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0Sep 10, 2023UPDATE 3: Success as ULA launches U.S. Space Force’s SILENTBARKER/NROL-107

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and U.S. Space Command (SSC) signed a framework agreement for protecting commercial remote sensing space assets.

RelationshipsValue 4.0Aug 31, 2023NGA, NRO, USSPACECOM plan for threats to commercial satellites

Space Systems Command, the National Reconnaissance Office, and United Launch Alliance are preparing to launch the 99th National Security Space Launch mission aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket.

PlanValue 4.4Aug 28, 2023Space Systems Command’s statement before the scrub of National Reconnaissance Office’s SILENTBARKER/NROL-107

SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 is a joint National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force mission to improve space domain awareness.

CapabilityRelationshipsGeneralValue 3.6Aug 28, 2023UPDATE: Scrubbed ULA’s NRO and U.S. Space Force’s SILENTBARKER/NROL-107

The National Reconnaissance Office is soliciting proposals from commercial remote-sensing companies that use optical imaging satellites.

GeneralValue 2.0Aug 15, 2023NRO to select providers of new forms of optical satellite imagery

The NRO is seeking imaging capabilities beyond those covered by the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer contracts awarded last year to Maxar Technologies, BlackSky, and Planet Labs.

RelationshipsCapabilityPlanValue 4.0Aug 15, 2023NRO to select providers of new forms of optical satellite imagery

The 2024 mission supports Xtenti’s follow-on study contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to demonstrate FANTM-RiDE’s rapid payload reconfiguration capabilities.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.6Aug 11, 2023Firefly Aerospace and Xtenti Collaborate to Conduct Responsive Space Demonstration Mission

The National Reconnaissance Office seeks to collaborate with industry and academia on advanced technologies for satellites and ground systems.

GeneralValue 1.8Aug 9, 2023NRO seeks collaboration with industry and academia

The National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and U.S. Space Command signed a Commercial Space Protection Tri-Seal Strategic Framework to improve threat intelligence sharing with commercial satellite operators.

RelationshipsLegalGeneralValue 4.0Aug 9, 2023U.S. intelligence agencies take steps to protect commercial satellites
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