Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, the NRO also maintains ground stations at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado; Fort Belvoir, Virginia; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; and has a presence at the Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap, Australia, and the Royal Air Force Base Menwith Hill Station, United Kingdom. NRO spacecraft launch offices are at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
One of 18 agencies in the Intelligence Community, the NRO was established in September 1961 as a classified agency in the Department of Defense. The existence of the NRO and its mission was officially declassified in September 1992. The NRO works collaboratively with mission partners - the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Military Combatant Commands and Services, including U.S. Space Command and U.S. Space Force - to ensure analysts have the most relevant, high-quality, timely data available to produce actionable intelligence products for use by warfighters and national decision makers.
The NRO is managed by a Director, a Principal Deputy Director, and a Deputy Director. Its workforce includes government civilian employees, contractors, and members of the armed services, Central Intelligence Agency, and Department of Defense. It is funded through the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program, consistent with the priorities and processes established by the Director of National Intelligence and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
