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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.

Betty Sapp has been the director of the National Reconnaissance Office since 2012.

GovernanceValue 4.0Feb 10, 2019NRO nominee thrust into Space Force debate

The White House nominated Chris Scolese on 2019-02-07 to be the next director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

GovernanceValue 3.5Feb 8, 2019NASA center director nominated to lead NRO

SpaceX launched the National Reconnaissance Office’s classified NROL-76 satellite in 2017.

PlanValue 4.5Dec 23, 2018SpaceX launches first GPS 3 satellite

SpaceX launched the Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane and a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload in 2017.

PlanGeneralValue 3.0Dec 18, 2018Air Force launch commander ‘not confident’ GPS 3 will lift off Wednesday

The Aerospace Corporation is a nonprofit federally funded think tank that provides technical advice to the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office on military space programs.

GeneralValue 2.0Dec 10, 2018Aerospace Corp. to lay out strategy to ‘outpace the threat’ in space

DigitalGlobe secured a $900,000,000 contract extension from the National Reconnaissance Office to provide commercial imagery until August 2023.

RelationshipsFinancialPlanValue 5.0Nov 14, 2018DigitalGlobe: New commercial players not threatening our government business

The National Reconnaissance Office in September assumed responsibility for the EnhancedView contract that used to be managed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

RelationshipsGovernancePlanValue 4.0Nov 14, 2018DigitalGlobe: New commercial players not threatening our government business

DigitalGlobe will support the National Reconnaissance Office with the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, and WorldView-3 satellites as long as they continue to perform.

RelationshipsValue 4.2Nov 14, 2018DigitalGlobe: New commercial players not threatening our government business

The National Reconnaissance Office signed a separate contract for an undisclosed amount to fund a DigitalGlobe cloud computing infrastructure upgrade to ease data sharing between DigitalGlobe and the U.S. government.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Nov 14, 2018DigitalGlobe: New commercial players not threatening our government business

Over 29 years, the Delta 2 launched 155 missions for the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office, and commercial customers.

GeneralValue 3.5Oct 15, 2018Delta 2 finishes its 29-year run as America’s trusty medium-lift workhorse

WFIRST can take advantage of donated hardware including a 2.4-meter telescope assembly offered by the National Reconnaissance Office.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Jun 3, 2018NASA imposes cost caps on astrophysics flagship studies

The Air Force is collaborating with NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office.

RelationshipsValue 3.2May 23, 2018Air Force aims for reliable launch services in spite of dramatic changes in commercial, military space

Pawlikowski has spent eight of the past ten years in the Air Force overseeing space programs as vice commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, and in senior roles at the National Reconnaissance Office and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

GovernanceValue 3.0May 15, 2018Air Force Gen. Pawlikowski: Military satellites will be smaller, more mobile

DigitalGlobe works with both NGA and NRO and intends to continue serving the U.S. government.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 3.8May 2, 2018Intelligence agencies rethinking how to buy data from new Earth imaging companies
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