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.

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.

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.

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.

This document was fought hard for, as it was finally released in a heavily redacted form, after a FOIA appeal.

After receiving the declassified page on the NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE (NRO) from the Intellipedia system, I found a reference to the NRO GEOINT Capabilities document.

I requested it in September of 2017, and it was denied in its entirety by the NRO as they claimed it was classified due to national security, or FOIA exemption (b)(1).

On October 21, 2017, I filed an appeal to their decision, referencing the fact that it was unlikely the entire document was “classified” as they stated. I believed that there should be at least some releasable portion of this document, whether it be as simple as the cover page, the table of contents, the index, the references section, etc. Some/most of which may not fall into the (b1) and/or (b)(3) exemption categories as they cited as their reason for denial.

On March 16, 2018, the NRO sent me the record as my appeal was partially granted. Though the end result was a highly redacted document, just as I suspected, some portions could be released.

Declassified Document

 NRO GEOINT Capabilities, February 2012 [92 Pages, 4.5MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/NROGEOINT-Capabilities.pdf

The post NRO GEOINT Capabilities, February 2012 first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the document:

Almost forty years ago, United States leaders created a hybrid National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to meet the unusual intelligence demands of the nuclear age and the Cold War. The chain of events began when President Dwight D. Eisenhower and a few confidants undertook national and international initiatives between 1953 and 1961 intended to help preclude a surprise nuclear attack.

Among them, they approved for development remarkable overhead technical systems that could collect reliable intelligence about the military equipage and disposition of Soviet forces; in the process they opened the Soviet Union to American  scrutiny.

During this period they also established the national policy and organizations needed to guide and execute a newly-emergent enterprise: astronautics.

Document Archive

 The National Reconnaissance Office: A Brief History of its Creation and Evolution, April 1999 [4 Pages, 0.8MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/F15-0025.pdf

The post The National Reconnaissance Office: A Brief History of its Creation and Evolution, April 1999 first appeared on The Black Vault.

While looking at the Intellipedia entry on the  National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), I came across a reference to the “NRO Satellite Resource Guide” under the “Suggested Readings” heading.

In September of 2017, I requested this document from the NRO, along with all other available versions of it. The Intellipedia page referenced a 2011 version, but that may have been a out of date reference, so I sought all versions available.

I was sent 5 versions of the document, from various dates. I put them in one .pdf below, and added bookmarks marking each version.

Document Archive

 The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Satellite Resource Guides, Released December 2017 [133 Pages, 7.1MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/satelliteresourceguide-dec2017.pdf

The post The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Satellite Resource Guides first appeared on The Black Vault.

Abstract from the report:

At the request of Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the NRO Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an Inspection of Program-S. The final inspection report is attached. This report contains no formal recommendations. However, the OIG provided a draft report to key stakeholders for technical accuracy review prior to final issuance, and the [ REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED ] requested an opportunity to provide management comments. Management comments are included in Appendix A of this report.

The below is the declassified OIG report, but sadly, not much can be deduced on what PROJECT-S actually is. I have filed additional requests to see what may exist.

Declassified Document

 NRO Investigation: Inspection of Program-S, Closed 5/5/15 [25 Pages, 2.4MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nro/F-2016-00093.pdf

The post NRO Investigation: Inspection of Program-S, May 5, 2015 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The following document is the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Congressional Budget Justification for the year 2013.

Although previously released a few years ago, the NRO took a couple of years to process my request. After attempting to charge me fees for the document, I appealed based on the fact that it would be of great public interest, and was GRANTED the fee waiver (a rare FOIA victory!)

So, in July of 2016, the NRO released the document to me. I was surprised to see the document was considerably much more lengthy then previous releases (at least, those that I have seen), and the document had another pass by the NRO on its review, adding citations for the redactions (which did not exist in prior releases) and seemingly releasing more if it.

You can download the document below:

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Congressional Budget Justification – 2013

 National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Congressional Budget Justification – 2013 [258 Pages, 39.2MB]

The post National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Congressional Budget Justification – 2013 first appeared on The Black Vault.

 NRO Release Letter [ 2 Pages, 0.5MB]

You can view all three versions of the video here:

Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Background on the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

The following is offered for context on who and what the NRO is. This is the exact text, taken from the NROs official website:

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: Vigilance From Above.

The post NRO: The Nation’s Eyes and Ears in Space first appeared on The Black Vault.

Below, you will find records relating to the Air Force Special Projects Production Facility, and it’s history.

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Documents

Air Force Special Projects Production Facility History, Volumes 1-3

The history of the Air Force Special Projects Production Facility (AFSPPF) is closely related with the evolution of earth satellite reconnaissance. The Facility was established to support the SAMOS Program, which was a project derived from studies in earth surveillance from space that began as early as 1946, and which achieved minimal success in 1960. The Facility expanded in mission, technical ability, and production capability as earth satellite reconnaissance systems were improved through development of the CORONA, GAMBIT, and HEXAGON Programs. History has already shown that AFSPPF was a key element and contributor in the overall success of these vital national programs.

 Air Force Special Projects Production Facility History, Volume 1: Overview, 1 September 1976 [ 287 Pages, 6.28MB ]

 Air Force Special Projects Production Facility History, Volume 2: Resources, 1 September 1976 [ 146 Pages, 3.03MB ]

 Air Force Special Projects Production Facility History, Volume 3: Phaseout, 1 September 1976 [ 39 Pages, 0.9MB ]

* Special thanks to Joe Page II for the tip on the above document and it’s declassification.

The post Air Force Special Projects Production Facility first appeared on The Black Vault.

Corona was the name of a series of the U.S. military reconnaissance satellites operated under a CIA program run by the Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the US Air Force, used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union, China and other areas from June 1959 until May 1972. The project name is sometimes given as CORONA, but it is a codeword, not an acronym.

The secret spy satellite was dubbed Corona by the CIA. To disguise its true purpose, it was given the cover name Discoverer and described as a scientific research program.

Document Archive

A Point In Time: The Corona Story Script, 25 June 1973 [54 Pages, 850k]
Watch the actual declassified video of A Point In Time: The Corona Story

 A Tribute to the People of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility; The National Security Impact of Its Corona Satellites, April 2007 [ 30 Pages, 8.43 MB ]

 The Corona Story, December 1988 [182 Pages, 7.9MB]

 CORONA: America’s First Satellite Program, 1995 [362 Pages]

Discoverer/Corona General Briefing Portfolio – 22 January 1959 – Document received from the NRO.

The post Corona Satellite / Discoverer Program first appeared on The Black Vault.