ARLINGTON, VA –
The National Reconnaissance Office is at the “precipice of a major transformation,” modernizing its entire space and ground infrastructure now and over the next decade, Maj. Gen. Chris Povak, deputy director of the NRO, said Wednesday at an
industry forum hosted by the Mitchell Institute.
“We're in the midst of developing, deploying, and operating the nation's largest and most complex government satellite constellation,” Povak said at the Schriever Spacepower Forum, an in-person and virtual gathering of hundreds of stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and media. Over the past two years, the NRO has already put more than 200 satellites on orbit – many of which can be attributed to the
NRO’s proliferated architecture.
“[This constellation] is going to increase both the persistence and the precision of our ability to collect information from space,” Povak said. “We need to ensure that we're not only available during times of competition like now, but also in times of crisis and conflict. So we're investing significantly in the resilience of our systems and our architecture around the world.”
As the military and intelligence communities become increasingly reliant on the data the NRO delivers, Povak said the proliferation of overhead architecture offers four key benefits – persistence, timeliness, shareability, and the opportunity for direct tasking by combatant commands. With more satellites on orbit, revisit times are shorter; and the combination of sensors and communications satellites means data can be collected, processed, and delivered faster than ever before – in minutes instead of hours. While the proliferated satellites collect and deliver less-detailed information than the exquisite satellites the NRO has traditionally operated, that information can be more readily shared with allies and partners; and there are more opportunities for military customers to control the timing and tempo of the collection to meet their mission needs. These advances are especially critical amid rising competition from Russia and China and an increasingly contested and congested space environment.
“The NRO is literally in the fight today,” Povak said. “I think that we in this nation understand the importance of the information advantage that NRO capabilities provide, and our competitors know that as well.”
He also highlighted how critical the NRO workforce is to the recent advancements in space and ground systems, and how the agency is ensuring it has the
right skillsets for its critical mission. “We have some of the best satellite space operations teams in the business, and they’re working on advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures and how we make ourselves a harder target,” Povak said. “And we’re looking hard at how we can attract, hire, and retain data scientists, computer scientists, computer engineers, system engineers, security experts, cyber defense experts, acquisition experts.”
Povak underscored that as the NRO looks to the future, it is also continuing to invest in exquisite satellites that offer unparalleled precision, such as the ability to detect even dimmer signals and identify even smaller objects.
“The NRO is not turning our back on the exquisite capabilities that have been the hallmark of our organization for the last six decades,” he said. “We owe it to the nation – and the nation expects of us – to build the best space-based capabilities that the world has ever seen, to continue to interject groundbreaking technologies, to make sure that we can see and hear things that no one else can from the ultimate high ground of space. And we're absolutely committed to doing that.”