More Declassified History 

Organizational and Program Histories

Organizational Program Histories are written as research publications exploring the history of national reconnaissance. The goal is to document the NRO's legacy and to provide a historical framework for policy and programmatic decisions.

• NRO History in Photos
• NRO Innovations & Innovators 1961-2021
• Parcae Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 4C-1000 -- The Untold Story of the NRO Headquarters Staff (1962 - 1990) (PDF 11 MB)
• Meet the Astronauts of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory video (filmed 21 June 2019)
• The 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the End of the A-12 OXCART video (filmed 22 June 2018)
• Bridgehead: Eastman Kodak Company's Covert Photoreconnaissance Film Processing Program
• The DORIAN Files Revealed: A Compendium of the NRO's Manned Orbiting Laboratory Documents (36.8 MB)
• Perry History
• Congress and the National Reconnaissance Office
• The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years: A Brief History, second edition
• GRAB and POPPY: America's Early ELINT Satellites
• A History of the Military Polar Orbiting Meteorological Satellite Program
• SAMOS to the Moon: The Clandestine Transfer of Reconnaissance Technology Between Government Agencies
• Spies in Space: Reflections on National Reconnaissance and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory
• NRO Almanac, Second edition, 2016

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The Gambit and Hexagon Programs

The declassification of GAMBIT and HEXAGON was publicly announced on September 17, 2011. Two GAMBIT systems were developed for surveillance of specific targets. GAMBIT 1 initially launched in 1963 and was equipped with the KH-7 camera systems. GAMBIT 3 followed in 1966 and was equipped with the KH-8 camera system. The HEXAGON system was launched in 1971 and was developed for wide-area searches of denied territory. Together these satellites became America's eyes in space.

GAMBIT-HEXAGON Images

 

GAMBIT-HEXAGON Posters

 

GAMBIT-HEXAGON Postcards

 

• The GAMBIT Story (PDF 37MB)
• The HEXAGON Story (PDF 34MB)
• GAMBIT 1 (KH-7) Fact Sheet
• GAMBIT 3 (KH-8) Fact Sheet
• HEXAGON (KH-9) Fact Sheet
• HEXAGON (KH-9) Imagery
• CRITICAL TO U.S. SECURITY: The GAMBIT and HEXAGON Satellite Reconnaissance Systems
• GAMBIT and HEXAGON Histories
• GAMBIT-HEXAGON Declassification Overview
• GAMBIT-HEXAGON Overview Transcript
• GAMBIT/HEXAGON Mapping Camera History
• Perry History
• Critical to U.S. Security: The Gambit and Hexagon Satellite Reconnaissance Systems Compendium
• National Reconnaissance Journal - Spring 2012

Additional Information can be found under NRO's FOIA: Declassified Records.

You may also view NRO GAMBIT and HEXAGON satellites at the National Museum of the United States Air Force Virtual Tour. Select the center dot (Cold War – 078) in the Cold War section of the map. GAMBIT 1 and GAMBIT 3 are to the left, HEXAGON to the right. Select each image for more information, or click on the links below:

• GAMBIT 1 (KH-7)
• GAMBIT 3 (KH-8)
• HEXAGON

Photos of GAMBIT and HEXAGON courtesy of the National Museum of the United States Air Force:

NRO Satellite Exhibit Opening  

HEXAGON KH-9

GAMBIT KH-7

GAMBIT 1 KH-7

GAMBIT 3 KH-8

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D-21 Drone

On March 21, 2019 the Southern Museum of Flight hosted historians from NRO’s Center for the Study of Reconnaissance in a public event about the D-21 drone recently unveiled in the museum’s new Cold War wing. The reconnaissance drone is a long-term loan to the museum from NRO. The event coincided with the release of recently declassified NRO documents about the drone program.The D-21 program foreshadowed the unpiloted aircraft of the 21^st century. It was carried and launched from a modified A-12 CIA high-performance reconnaissance aircraft and then later from a modified USAF B-52. Born of the Cold War, the D-21 tested the limits of technology available in the time period as a way of collecting reconnaissance imagery over denied territory.

D-21 Event Presentations

- "What Is This Story of Creativity & Risk?," Dr. Robert McDonald

- "Historical Context of the D-21 Program," Dr. James Outzen

-"The D-21 Tagboard: Its Life & Legacy," Mr. Patrick Widlake

- "The Story of Our D-21: Article '#538?'," Ms. Trisha Aquintey

- "What Has the NRO Just Declassified?," Ms. Cynthia Allman

- "Home for the D-21," Ms. Gloria King

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• Declassified D-21 Program Records
• D-21 Event Brochure
• D-21 Images
• D-21 Postcards

Photos below courtesy of the Southern Museum of Flight: 

Drone 21 display

Drone 21 display

 

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Leaders and Pioneers in National Reconnaissance

Pioneers of National Reconnaissance

A Pioneer of National Reconnaissance is an individual who played a unique and pivotal role in national reconnaissance activities, an individual who made innovative, pioneering contributions to the discipline and practice, and those contributions were of such significance that they changed the directions or scope of national reconnaissance. The CSNR manages this heritage recognition program, and has issued a number of publications related to the program. The CSNR also solicits nominations for candidates to be selected as Pioneers:

Call for Nominations for Pioneers of National Reconnaissance

The NRO issues annually, a call for nominations for Pioneers of National Reconnaissance. A Pioneer of National Reconnaissance is an individual who, at any point in the history of national reconnaissance, made an innovative breakthrough that resulted in a lasting and significant contribution that changed the direction or scope of the discipline.  Please see the steps below to submit a nominee:

• Pioneer Selection Criteria Package

  If you have questions about the process, please contact the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance Office at csnr@nro.mil.

• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2020
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2018-2019
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2017 
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2016
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2015
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2014
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2013
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 2012
• Pioneers of National Reconnaissance 1960-2000
• January 24, 2019- NRO honors the 2017 Pioneers of National Reconnaissance
• April 22,2016- NRO Selects the 2015 Pioneer of National Reconnaissance
• February 19,2015- NRO Selects the 2014 Class of Pioneers

 

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Leaders

• Leaders of the NRO Vol. 1
• Leaders of the NRO Vol. 2
• NRO Directors, 1961-present
• Directors of the National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years
• Program Directors of the NRO-ABC&D
• Founders of National Reconnaissance 1960-2000

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NRO 60th Anniversary

In 2021 the National Reconnaissance Office marked its 60th anniversary. Since its inception on Sept. 6, 1961, the NRO has leveraged its unparalleled intelligence collection capabilities to meet new challenges, and it continues to develop intelligence gathering systems to protect the United States and its citizens. For this 60^th anniversary celebration, CSNR conducted major declassifications, articles, and exhibits, highlighting the NRO’s legacy of innovation and the innovators who paved the way for today’s achievements. To learn more about the National Reconnaissance Office please contact the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance Office at csnr@nro.mil.

Publications: NRO By the Numbers (December 2021)(PDF 9Mb)

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NRO 50th Anniversary

In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved reconnaissance systems that included high-altitude balloons, airplanes, and satellites to gain strategic intelligence on the Soviet Union, China, and other potential threats to the United States. On August 31, 1960, Secretary of the Air Force Dudley C. Sharp established the Office of Missile and Satellite Systems to direct the Air Force satellite reconnaissance program. On September 6, 1961, Acting Director of Central Intelligence General Charles P. Cabell and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric officially established management arrangements for the National Reconnaissance Program. These arrangements consolidated many of America’s national space and aerial reconnaissance projects under a covert, highly compartmented National Reconnaissance Office.    

• NRO Almanac 2016, second edition
• NRO Almanac 2011 
• NRO History & Heritage
• CORONA Recovery Poster - August 11, 1960 Event
• CORONA Recovery Poster - August 18, 1960 Event
• NRO 50^th Anniversary Pocket History
• NRO 50^th Anniversary Logo
• Directors of the National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years
• The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years: A Brief History, second edition
• The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years: A Brief History, published September 2011

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Anniversary Fact Cards and Wallpapers

 

NRO 50^th Anniversary Fact Cards

Click any image below to view a larger version.

 

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Climate Change Fact Sheet (PDF 319KB)

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Contact the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance by phone at 703-227-9368 or email CSNR@nro.mil