Eyes Above the Earth: Understanding the National Reconnaissance Office
For over six decades, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has operated at the intersection of technological boundary-pushing and national security. Founded in September 1961 as a joint effort between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the agency was tasked with a singular core mission: design, build, launch, and operate the space-based intelligence architecture for the United States.