NRO celebrates 60th anniversary during NROL-82 launch

60 Years – Above and Beyond

This year, the National Reconnaissance Office celebrates its 60th
anniversary. From its inception in 1961, NRO has used its incredible
intelligence collection capabilities to meet the nation’s challenges.

The agency’s story is one where opportunity, necessity, and
determination converged during the Cold War to form a unique
intelligence agency. In the 1950s, President Eisenhower approved
reconnaissance systems that included high-altitude balloons,
airplanes, and satellites to collect intelligence on the Soviet Union,
and other threats to the United States.

The successful Air Force and CIA imagery reconnaissance programs of
the late 1950s and early 1960s led to what is now the National
Reconnaissance Office. This new program brought dispersed United
States satellite system programs under one--highly classified—agency
for the first time on September 6, 1961. For the next 30 years, NRO
operated without being openly acknowledged or displayed until the U.S.
government declassified the fact that NRO existed in 1992.

For nearly six decades, the NRO has pushed the envelope of U.S.
space-based intelligence collection with courage and ingenuity. Their
innovative legacy continues to thrive as they develop, acquire,
launch, and operate the world’s most capable spy satellites to protect
Americans and our allies worldwide.

Видео NRO celebrates 60th anniversary during NROL-82 launch канала National Reconnaissance Office