[ index | 1970 ]

National Reconnaissance Office [NRO]

In 1961, the CIA and the Air Force jointly formed a centralized administrative office to run the spy satellite program. This was the National Reconnaissance Office, an organisation so secret that even today [1982] its very name is considered classified information. (p.243)

Because of its long involvement in the spy field, the CIA argued it should control the new satellite programs. The Air Force, on the other hand, pointed to the fact that since it had placed the satellite in space and operated the recovery and ground support equipment, it should run the operations.

In reality, the NRO primarly acts as administrator and coordinator for the "black" space program. The satellites themselves are built by private contractors working with the CIA for photo systems and the NSA for eavesdropping or signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems. (p.509)

-- James Bamford: THE PUZZLE PALACE, 1982.

[ index | 1969 ]