In the interviews, the identities are unknown in most cases. If anyone can add who the individuals are, please CONTACT The Black Vault.

Released Videos

[ .zip File of ALL 10 Videos Below, As Released by the NRO – 5.72GB File Size ]

Metamorphosis: Corona Satellite Operation in the 1960s, Presentation by Lt. Col. David Arnold, PhD

Catch a Falling Star

Honoring the Corona Pioneers, May 24, 1995

Discovery / Corona – 1st You Don’t Succeed

Corona Interview #1

Corona Interview #2 (Part 2 of the above)

Corona Interview #3

Corona Interview #4 – Colonel Frank S. Buzard

Corona Interview #5 – Colonel Frank S. Buzard (Part 2 of the above)

Corona Interview #6

FOIA Release Letter

The post NRO Releases Previously Unseen Corona Satellite Related Videos first appeared on The Black Vault.

Document Archive

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Brand Style Guide, Released 2014 [16 Pages, 2.2MB]

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The post National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Brand Style Guide, Released 2014 first appeared on The Black Vault.

It was released in 2015, in a request filed by The Black Vault.

Document Archive

NRO Social Media Startup, Decision Brief – August 7, 2014 [11 Pages, 1.5MB]

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The post NRO Social Media Startup, Decision Brief – August 7, 2014 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The date is was created is unknown.

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The post NRO: Getting the Job Done Video first appeared on The Black Vault.

Much of the video is redacted, so you will need to fast forward a bit to see the parts released.

Video Archive

Document Archive

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The post NRO Video: Introduction to Declassification Briefing – Mr. Jeffrey Harris – Unknown Date first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the NRO, here is some background on the agency:

Develop. Acquire. Launch. Operate.

When the United States needs eyes and ears in critical places where no human can reach – be it over the most rugged terrain or through the most hostile territory – it turns to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The NRO is the U.S. Government agency in charge of designing, building, launching, and maintaining America’s intelligence satellites. Whether creating the latest innovations in satellite technology, contracting with the most cost-efficient industrial supplier, conducting rigorous launch schedules, or providing the highest-quality products to our customers, we never lose focus on who we are working to protect: our Nation and its citizens.

From our inception in 1961 to our declassification to the public in 1992, we have worked tirelessly to provide the best reconnaissance support possible to the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD). We are unwavering in our dedication to fulfilling our vision: Supra Et Ultra: Above and Beyond.

The below, are indexes to the videos that the NRO holds, in reverse chronological order on when they were released.

Declassified Documents

 Index of videos at the NRO, as of July of 2021 [50 Pages, 7.5MB]

 Index of videos at the NRO, as of September of 2016 [26 Pages, 7.5MB]

 Index of videos at the NRO, as of August of 2014 [78 Pages, 5.2MB]

 Index of videos at the NRO, as of August of 2009 [61 Pages, 12.35MB]

The post National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Videos first appeared on The Black Vault.

On April 27, 2018, The Black Vault filed a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request to have it reviewed for possible release. On July 20, 2021, the NRO released the document, in full.

According to the record:

“This document is a chronological listing of the more important events in the evolution of the management of the National Reconnaissance Program, to include the internal structure of the National Reconnaissance Office as well as changes in the external environment which have affected the management of the program. It is not a complete compilation of every action on all issues, and additional material may be found in the file references and in the Management volume of the History of the NRO prepared by Robert Perry . The purpose of this chronology is to provide an overview and to permit ready recall of pertinent events and their timing.”

Document Archive

“NRO Charter and Management Evolution” (Chronology of Events), Author Unknown, undated. Circa February 1989 [17 Pages, 9MB]

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The post “NRO Charter and Management Evolution” (Chronology of Events), Author Unknown, February 1989 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Memorandum for Director, CIA Reconnaissance Programs – OPS NRO Quarterly Report on NRP Satellite Systems, July 28, 1969

Document Archive

Memorandum for Director, CIA Reconnaissance Programs – OPS NRO Quarterly Report on NRP Satellite Systems, July 28, 1969 [27 Pages, 8MB]

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The post Memorandum for Director, CIA Reconnaissance Programs – OPS NRO Quarterly Report on NRP Satellite Systems, July 28, 1969 first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the Executive Summary of the document:

A U.S. Navy ELINT satellite system became operational in July 1960 and was operated until August 1962. The mission was to obtain information on Soviet air defense radars that could not be observed by Air Force and Navy ferret aircraft flying ELINT missions along accessible borders in Europe and the western Pacific. 

The system was proposed by the Naval Research Laboratory in the spring of 1958. In parallel with exploratory development by the NRL, the Office of Naval Intelligence obtained endorsements of Project Tattletale from elements of the executive and legislative branches. With positive recommendations from State, Defense, and CIA, President Eisenhower approved full development on 24 August 1959. By then, the project had been placed under a limited distribution security control system (Canes) with access limited to fewer than two hundred people in the Washington D.C. area . Development and interagency coordination proceeded as the GRAB (Galactic Radiation and Background) experiment .

After NRL completed development of the GRAB satellite and a network of overseas ground collection sites, a first launch was approved by Eisenhower on 5 May 1960, just four days after a CIA U- 2 aircraft was lost on a reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory . The GRAB satellite got a free ride into space on 22 June 1960 with Navy’s third Transit navigation satellite . GRAB carried two electronic payloads, the classified ELINT package and instrumentation to measure solar radiation. The SolRad experiment was publicly disclosed in DoD press releases on this and subsequent launches . The cost to achieve an initial operating capability was $ 1.1M, about the price of a single U-2 aircraft. Four more launches were attempted , one of them successfully on 29 June 1961. Total cost of the program was $7.6M.

The Director of Naval Intelligence exercised overall control. Field sites were operated by elements of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and CIA. Data recorded on magnetic tape was couriered back to the NRL. Tapes were evaluated , duplicated , and forwarded to the NSA at Army Fort Meade, Maryland, and the Strategic Air Command at Offut Air Force Base Omaha, Nebraska, for analysis and processing. In searching the tapes for new and unusual signals, NSA found that the Soviets were already operating a radar that supported a capability to destroy ballistic missiles. SAC’s processing was aimed at building the SIOP (single integrated operations plan ), a responsibility of the Joint Strategic Targeting Staff at Offutt AFB.

Shortly after the NRO was officially established as an operating agency of the DoD, the Navy ELINT satellite project and its multi-agency infrastructure were assimilated in the NRP as Program C (Navy) in July 1962. The GRAB successor, two-ball POPPY 1 / Mission 7101 , was launched five months later and was followed , in the next nine years, by six more launches of three or four POPPY satellites at a time. Starting as an ELINT general search system, the POPPY mission gradually expanded , as capabilities improved, to encompass: general search, ABM search, technical intelligence, EOB production, and ocean surveillance .

Growing concern in the U.S. defense establishment about demonstrated abilities of Soviet fleets to project military power across seas and oceans, was registered in 1970 by the USIB’s designation of ocean surveillance as a national intelligence objective. Pursuant to a study conducted by the Defense Science Board, POPPY was upgraded by NRO and Navy to become an interim ocean surveillance system . Meanwhile, NRO, Navy, and NSA conducted broader studies to determine an optimum system and concluded in 1972 that the POPPY technology infrastructure, and operational concept should evolve…

Document Archive

U.S. Navy/NRO Program C Electronic Intelligence Satellites (1958-1977) [255 Pages, 100MB]

The post U.S. Navy/NRO Program C Electronic Intelligence Satellites (1958-1977) first appeared on The Black Vault.

The following are the released editions of the NRO’s internal publication, The RECON.

More dates have been requested, and will be added when they are released.

Declassified Documents

 The RECON issues, 4/20/09, 5/4/09, 5/15/09, 6/01/09 [67 Pages, 10.34MB

 The RECON issues all of 2008 [23 Pages, 0.8MB]

 The RECON issues from 09/2001 through 01/2002 [124 Pages, 11.24MB]

 The RECON issues all of 2003 [327 Pages, 37MB] – This PDF file has bookmarks that mark every date issue discernible from the release.

The post The RECON – National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Publication first appeared on The Black Vault.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) began in 1961, but operated in secret for decades before it was officially acknowledged. Before the existence was declassified, in 1974, they evaluated numerous incidents where the agency was talked about within the press. The concern was how the Soviets, or the media, would react.

This document was first released to the National Security Archive (also archived below) and was heavily redacted. In August of 2019, I filed a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request to have it reviewed. To my surprise, all redactions were lifted and it was released in full minus one name at the end of the report.

Document Archive

History of NRO Security Breaches, January 7, 1974 [6 Pages, 1MB]

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Archived Versions

Original Release to the National Security Archive

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The post History of NRO Security Breaches, January 7, 1974 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Study encompasses all facets of the NRO workforce, with the goal to optimize human capital across the NRO to achieve mission objectives.

Document Archive

NRO Workforce 2015 Study, 11 April 2012 [22 Pages, 3.8MB]

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The post NRO Workforce 2015 Study, 11 April 2012 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Internally, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)’s Office of Strategic Communication published the blog entitled, “Vigilance from Above”. It appears, that it began in November of 2009 and was published until June of 2010.

I do have an open request for the entire collection, and this page will be updated when that request response comes in. Until then, the final 10 blogs published have been released to me below.

Document Archive

 NRO Internal Blog/Newsletter: VIGILANCE FROM ABOVE (Requested “all issues” a/o February 2019) [17 Pages, 1.5MB]

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 NRO Internal Blog/Newsletter: VIGILANCE FROM ABOVE (Requested “Last 10” a/o 2017) [11 Pages, 1.8MB]

The post NRO Internal Blog/Newsletter: VIGILANCE FROM ABOVE first appeared on The Black Vault.

This is the second volume in the history of the National Reconnaissance Program. The first volume related the story of CORONA-the first successful program in applying space vehicles to overflight reconnaissance operations. In its several evolutionary versions, CORONA steadily improved its photographic surveys of denied areas (with final resolutions of six to ten feet), operating in what the Intelligence Community calls “search mode.”

This volume is the story of a companion photographic satellite called GAMBIT, which was developed to perform at even better resolutions than CORONA and work against specified targets-an operation usually referred to as “surveillance mode.” GAMBIT fulfilled this surveillance function from July 1963 to April 1984.

Document Archive

The GAMBIT Story, June 1991 [200 Pages, 11MB]

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The post The GAMBIT Story, June 1991 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The NRO Primer was referenced in a February 2003 issue of the NRO’s internal magazine called RECON. I requested the document in December of 2018, and it was released on March 29, 2019.

Document Archive

NRO Primer Presentation, August 22, 2005 [75 Pages, 1.1MB]

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The post NRO Primer Presentation, August 22, 2005 first appeared on The Black Vault.

This video was requested via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by John Greenewald, Jr. of The Black Vault. The FOIA Case number for reference is F-2018-00088.

The video was released in five, individual files. These have been unedited from their original form, but have been combined here for easier viewing. The slates in front of all five clips appear, and are marked by the “NRO Approved For Release May 2019” image.

The video was seen as a reference, in a declassified “Joint Inspection of the National Reconnaissance Office” which I received from the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General. That document can be seen here.

Document Archive

FOIA RESPONSE

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The post The “NRO Evolution and Overview” video, dated September 11, 1995 (Declassified from SECRET, Appears w/ Redactions) first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the document, the purpose of this task was was to:

“Advise the DCI on issues attendant to the future of the National Reconnaissance Office, including those raised by The Senate “Intelligence Reorganization Act of 1992″ (S. 2198) and House National Security Act of 1992″ (HR 4165).”

Although previously released, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) on it in April of 2018. In October of the same year, I received the below document. I highlighted changes so you can see the newly released information.

Document Archive

DCI Task Force on the National Reconnaissance Office, Final Report (The Fuhrman Report), April 1992 (October 2018 Release – with Highlighted newly released information) [36 Pages, 19.5MB]

DCI Task Force on the National Reconnaissance Office, Final Report (The Fuhrman Report), April 1992 (National Security Archive [Unknown Date] Release) [35 Pages, 4.2MB]

The post DCI Task Force on the National Reconnaissance Office, Final Report (The Fuhrman Report), April 1992 first appeared on The Black Vault.

POPPY is the code name given to a series of U.S. intelligence satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office. The POPPY satellites recorded ELINT data, targeting radar installations in the Soviet Union and Soviet naval ships at sea.

The POPPY program was a continuation within NRO’s Program C of the Naval Research Laboratory’s Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB) ELINT program, also known as Tattletale. The National Security Agency was given the responsibility of collecting, interpreting, and reporting the signals intercepted.

The existence of the POPPY program was declassified by the NRO in September 2005, although most of the details about its capabilities and operation are still classified. The NRO revealed, though, that the POPPY satellites, like other US SIGINT systems, used the principle of signals time difference of arrival, which enables precise locating of an object.[1] All POPPY launches orbited multiple satellites. The first POPPY launch included two satellites, launch #2 and #3 three satellites each, and subsequent launches orbited four satellites each. The full configuration thus employed four vehicles in low Earth orbit.

There were seven launches of POPPY satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base from 1962 until 1971, all of which were successful. The program continued until August 1977.

Declassified Documents

The Poppy Satellite – First Launch [100 Pages] – All documents released from the National Reconnaissance Office, as of 14 August 2006.

The History of the Poppy Satellite System

Abstract: This report describes the history of the Poppy project from its concept in 1958 through its termination on 30 September 1977. This history was compiled at the request of the Director National Reconnaissance Office to the Director, Program C.

Included in this report are the significant events during the nineteen years of the Poppy project, including the development and refinement of POPPY satellites,
mission ground stations, ground readout equipment; analog analysis, and data processing. The impact of failures, problems and anomalies are evaluated. Successes of the Poppy project are measured against program objectives. Technical cost history, key contributions, a glossary of terms related to the POPPY project, and a bibliography are contained in annexes to the report.

Each of the chapters in the report is intended to be somewhat self-contained. Annex i contains a summary of mission characteristics and merges some information from the third throughout the seventh chapters in order to provide a chronological summary of the technological innovations in the order of the launches.

The History of the Poppy Satellite System, 2019 Release (Highlighted Portions of NEW Information) [98 Pages, 32MB] – In January of 2019, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of this document. Previously, the last release of it was in 2016. I was successful in getting the NRO to release additional portions of the report, that have never been released before. This included project names, mission numbers and key technical data. I archived the 2012 and 2016 versions below, for reference.

The History of the Poppy Satellite System, 2016 Release [98 Pages, 9.5MB] – In October of 2016, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of this document. Previously, the last release of it was in 2012. I was successful in getting the NRO to release additional portions of the report, that have never been released before. I archived the 2012 version below, for reference.

The History of the Poppy Satellite System, 2012 Release [97 Pages, 2.5MB]

Raising the Periscope… GRAB and POPPY: America’s Early ELINT Satellites [27 Pages, 1.5MB] – We offer in this publication a brief history of Grab and Poppy—two of the earliest U.S. satellite-based electronic intelligence (ELINT) programs. Our brief history represents the scope of programmatic details that former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet authorized the Director of National Reconnaissance to declassify.1 Our goal was to produce a consolidated summary of these programs on the occasion of DNRO Donald Kerr’s recognition of key contributors to the Poppy program.2 Although security constraints limit how much we can say about these programs, we present an overview and summary of Poppy’s early contributions to national security. Such information can provide current NRO program managers with an unclassified historical context for programmatic and policy decisions.

The post Poppy Satellite first appeared on The Black Vault.

Document Archive

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Response:

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The post Gambit: Eye of the Eagle — National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Video first appeared on The Black Vault.

Document Archive

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Response:

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The post Hexagon: Sentinel of Liberty — National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Video first appeared on The Black Vault.

This document transcript was originally released in 2012 with redactions. In December of 2018, I requested that the document be reviewed again when I filed a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request. There was additional information released, which includes the identity of the Kennon satellite in the interview, which was previously redacted.

According to Wikipedia:

“Hans Michael Mark (born June 17, 1929 in Mannheim, Germany) is a former Secretary of the Air Force and a former Deputy Administrator of NASA. He is an expert and consultant in aerospace design and national defense policy. Mark retired from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering in July 2014.”

Gerald Haines was the official historian of the NRO, at the time, when he conducted this interview. It should be noted that Mr. Haines worked also for the CIA, NSA and others.

Document Archive

 Dr. Hans Mark Interviewed by Gerald Haines, 12 March 1997 [37 Pages, 17MB] – 2019 Release

 Dr. Hans Mark Interviewed by Gerald Haines, 12 March 1997 [36 Pages, 2.2MB] – 2012 Release

The post Dr. Hans Mark Interviewed by Gerald Haines, 12 March 1997 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The following document was published in the Cryptologic Quarterly, Summer 1994, Volume 13, Issue No. 2.

When it was first released, it was heavily redacted, and has remained released in that form since 2010. So, in October of 2016, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of the record.

It took until the end of May of 2018 for the record to be released, however, it was a huge win since a lot of the information that was previously redacted, was released to the general public.  Upon this record’s release to The Black Vault, it had never been seen by the public in this way.

Document Archive

 Doing Business Smarter: A Proposal for Consolidating NSA’s Analysis and Reporting of Foreign Space borne Reconnaissance, 1994 [25 Pages, 4.2MB]

2018 Release

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nsa/MDR-85685.pdf

2010 Release

 Doing Business Smarter: A Proposal for Consolidating NSA’s Analysis and Reporting of Foreign Space borne Reconnaissance, 1994 [22 Pages, 5.3MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nsa/Doing_Business_Smarter.pdf

The post Doing Business Smarter: A Proposal for Consolidating NSA’s Analysis and Reporting of Foreign Space borne Reconnaissance,1994 first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the document, the purpose of the report is to:

“To provide strategic direction for the NRO in a changing world environment. The plan also provides a basis for focused dialogue among NRO managers regarding critical issues and choices, as well as a basis for dialogue between the NRO and its government and industry partners.” 

In April of 2018, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) on the record.

On 18 May 2018, they released the below version.

Document Archive

 The NRO Strategic Plan, 1993 [14 Pages, 2.2MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/NROStrategicPlan1993.pdf

The post The NRO Strategic Plan, 1993 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Excerpt from document:

“Intelligence vital to the national security of the US now depends to a very large extent on photography acquired by overhead reconnaissance. This important intelligence source has been developed quite dramatically over the past ten years. All of our present photography has been collected by there reconnaissance systems.”

Document Archive

 A summary of the National Reconnaissance Problem, 13 May 1965 [24 Pages, 2.9MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/NationalReconProblem1965-nro.pdf

The post A summary of the National Reconnaissance Problem, 13 May 1965 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The following document was a “Top Secret” briefing by the Office of General Counsel at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) regarding the “Legal Status of the NRO,” given to a Joint DOD/CIA Inspector General team on 11 September 1995.

I filed the FOIA request to receive the document in April of 2018 and it was released in May of the same year.

Document Archive

 Legal Status of NRO – Briefing to Joint DOD-CIA IG Team, 11 September 1995 [23 Pages, 1.8MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/LegalStatusNRO.pdf

The post Legal Status of NRO – Briefing to Joint DOD-CIA IG Team, 11 September 1995 first appeared on The Black Vault.