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U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

US

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.

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office pays Maxar about $300,000,000 per year for access to Maxar’s four high-resolution imagery satellites and image archives.

RelationshipsFinancialValue 5.0Feb 27, 2022Commercial spy satellites put Russia’s Ukraine invasion in the public eye

The National Reconnaissance Office operates U.S. government-owned spy satellites.

GeneralValue 3.0Feb 23, 2022NRO warns satellite operators of possible Russian attacks

U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Director Christopher Scolese warned that Russia's military could target satellites to disrupt communications and GPS services.

LegalGeneralValue 3.2Feb 23, 2022NRO warns satellite operators of possible Russian attacks

PredaSAR is one of five synthetic aperture radar imagery providers selected by the National Reconnaissance Office for study contracts.

RelationshipsValue 4.2Feb 17, 2022Terran Orbital touts military and defense contracts ahead of going public

Frank Calvelli worked for 30 years at the National Reconnaissance Office.

GovernanceValue 2.0Feb 17, 2022Space acquisition nominee: Satellites must be defended, ‘the economy depends on space’

HySpecIQ was founded in 2013 and won a National Reconnaissance Office study contract in 2019.

RelationshipsPlanFinancialValue 4.0Feb 11, 2022Wyvern gets funding to expand hyperspectral imaging market

The National Reconnaissance Office plans to start buying commercial space radar data from several vendors.

PlanRelationshipsValue 4.0Feb 2, 2022Report: U.S. military needs a better way to buy commercial satellite imagery

The National Reconnaissance Office planned to launch as many as seven missions in 2022, a mix of commercially procured and NSSL launches.

PlanRelationshipsValue 4.0Feb 2, 2022SpaceX launches classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

NROL-87 was the NRO’s first mission launched by a Falcon 9 procured under the National Security Space Launch program run by the U.S. Space Force.

RelationshipsValue 4.6Feb 2, 2022SpaceX launches classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

The contracts awarded by the National Reconnaissance Office for commercial radar data are currently small and focused on studying what data companies can provide.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 3.0Feb 2, 2022Report: U.S. military needs a better way to buy commercial satellite imagery

The National Reconnaissance Office builds and operates classified U.S. government spy satellites.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Feb 2, 2022SpaceX launches classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

The National Reconnaissance Office confirmed the NROL-87 payload was successfully deployed.

PlanValue 4.0Feb 2, 2022SpaceX launches classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

The U.S. government has traditionally procured remote sensing satellites that are owned and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or the U.S. Space Force.

GeneralRelationshipsValue 2.0Feb 2, 2022Report: U.S. military needs a better way to buy commercial satellite imagery

SpaceX previously launched two National Reconnaissance Office satellites under commercial contracts.

RelationshipsValue 3.6Feb 2, 2022SpaceX launches classified satellite for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office

A Falcon 9 was scheduled to launch a National Reconnaissance Office classified payload from Vandenberg Space Force Base on 2022-02-02.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Jan 31, 2022Falcon 9 launches Italian radar satellite

Under the contract, Capella Space will deliver sample synthetic aperture radar imagery to the National Reconnaissance Office.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 4.6Jan 21, 2022Capella Space awarded commercial radar contract By National Reconnaissance Office

The National Reconnaissance Office announced its Broad Agency Announcement Framework for Strategic Commercial Enhancements in October 2021.

LegalPlanValue 2.0Jan 21, 2022Capella Space awarded commercial radar contract By National Reconnaissance Office

Under the contract, Capella Space will provide synthetic aperture radar data modeling and simulation for the National Reconnaissance Office.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.2Jan 21, 2022Capella Space awarded commercial radar contract By National Reconnaissance Office

Capella Space intends to work with the National Reconnaissance Office to expand its reach into additional U.S. government customers.

RelationshipsGrowthValue 3.0Jan 21, 2022Capella Space awarded commercial radar contract By National Reconnaissance Office

The National Reconnaissance Office signed study agreements on 2022-01-20 with Airbus U.S., Capella Space, Iceye U.S., PredaSAR, and Umbra.

RelationshipsValue 4.5Jan 20, 2022National Reconnaissance Office signs agreements with five commercial radar satellite operators
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