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.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Capella Space signed a 2019 agreement with the NRO to study integration of SAR imagery into the agency’s national ground architecture.
In December 2019, Capella Space signed a contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to study integration of Capella Space’s SAR imagery into the NRO’s national ground architecture.
Under the contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, Capella Space will provide SAR data modeling and simulation, end-to-end regional imagery responsiveness demonstrations, theater downlink demonstrations, and sample imagery delivery.
ICEYE US received a contract from the National Reconnaissance Office to participate in the NRO’s evaluation of commercial remote sensing companies operating synthetic aperture radar satellites.
The NRO currently pays Maxar $300,000,000 a year for access to Maxar’s high-resolution imagery satellites and image archive.
The National Reconnaissance Office plans to select domestic companies in 2022 to join Maxar Technologies as its main suppliers of commercial electro-optical imagery under the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer procurement.
Frank Calvelli worked for 30 years at the National Reconnaissance Office.
From July 2012 to October 2020 Frank Calvelli was the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, overseeing satellite and ground system acquisitions, systems engineering, and satellite operations.
HyspecIQ won a National Reconnaissance Office study contract in 2019.
The National Reconnaissance Office extended the period of performance for its commercial imagery study contract with HyspecIQ to 2022-09-30.
BlackSky submitted a bid for a National Reconnaissance Office imagery contract that the NRO plans to award in mid-2022 to multiple commercial providers.
The National Reconnaissance Office currently buys most of its commercial satellite imagery from Maxar.
For contracts to launch National Reconnaissance Office payloads, the NDAA requires that pricing terms be submitted to the intelligence committees.
The NDAA directs the Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office to procure launch services through the NSSL program whenever possible rather than using commercial contracts to buy services directly from providers.
The contract extension includes integration efforts to make Planet’s deep archive, dating back to 2009, and daily satellite data available to National Reconnaissance Office users through the Commercial GEOINT Integration (CGI) architecture.
Planet Federal expanded its contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to provide the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community continued access to Planet’s daily, unclassified satellite data.
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office awarded HawkEye 360 a study contract in 2019.
CASTLE is an unclassified collaboration center operated by the National Reconnaissance Office.
The National Reconnaissance Office builds and operates the United States’ spy satellites and is the primary acquirer of commercial imagery for the U.S. government.
The NRO pays Maxar about $300,000,000 per year for access to Maxar’s high-resolution imagery satellites and image archive.