20th Century Spy in the Sky Satellites: Secrets of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Volume 8 - History Volumes: Management of the Program 1960-1965, Corona and Predecessor Programs

Part of our comprehensive series on the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and its "spy satellite" network, this volume covers two volumes in the History of Satellite Reconnaissance series by Robert L. Perry. Volume V deals with the management of the national reconnaissance program from 1960 to 1965; Volume 1 deals with Corona and predecessor reconnaissance satellite activities.

VOLUME V - This portion of A History of Satellite Reconnaissance is concerned with the creation, growth, and travails of the National Reconnaissance Program in the years between 1960 and late 1965. Events and people, causes and effects that both call for and represent "management" are its substance. Its focus is the headquarters establishment — the staff and its activities — although the account extends to events which bore on the central theme without being essentials of it. Mostly having to do with the management of individual programs or with technical and . operational aspects of those programs, these events are treated in other volumes in this set.

Volume I - This volume of A History of Satellite Reconnaissance is principally concerned with the Corona program, although it necessarily deals with predecessor reconnaissance satellite activities (Project Feedback, the Advanced Reconnaissance System, Weapon System 117L," Samos," "Sentry " and several other short-lived activities), with concurrent and alternative programs (the several Samos E-series projects, Argon, Lanyard, and various Corona variants), and with successor programs.

NRO designs, builds and operates the nation's reconnaissance satellites. NRO products, provided to an expanding list of customers like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), can warn of potential trouble spots around the world, help plan military operations, and monitor the environment. As part of the 16-member Intelligence Community, the NRO plays a primary role in achieving information superiority for the U. S. Government and Armed Forces. A DoD agency, the NRO is staffed by DoD and CIA personnel. It is funded through the National Reconnaissance Program, part of the National Foreign Intelligence Program. The NRO Vision: Vigilance From Above. NRO Mission: Innovative Overhead Intelligence Systems for National Security. In recent years, the NRO has implemented a series of actions declassifying some of its operations. The organization was declassified in September 1992 followed by the location of its headquarters in Chantilly, VA, in 1994.