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10th September. ing Soviet missile tests, and thirdly, NASA supplied
Before NASA started their formal operations on weather data to the US military. At the same time
1st October 1958, CIA’s assistant director had offered NASA’s scientific community did not always approve
to share intelligence on Soviet space programs with the way by which the Intelligence Agencies and Mili-
NASA’s director on this memo. At that time the Office tary Agencies tried to classify their joint agreement
of Scientific Intelligence had the primary responsi- of working together in many projects. NASA wanted
bility within the CIA to produce this information. to make the joint effort remain unclassified but failed.
Much later, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) The conflict went to some extents where it was even
released more declassified documents. Those docu- brought to the attention of the President of America.
ments would have shattered any moral ground in Now you can have a look at the NASA’s secret side
favour of a peaceful scientific space program which at the National Security Archive at The George Wash-
NASA had been supposed to do, if the US officials had ington University (www.nsarchive.org). First, it came
kept them unclassified! This document was declas- to light when James E. David, a curator in NASA’s
sified by NRO on 14th June 2013 after 50 years. The Division of Space History, wrote a critically praised
document was originated on 28th August 1963 and book Spies and Shuttles: NASA’s Secret Relationships
they declassified it on 14th June 2013. with the DoD and CIA (University Press of Florida,
The US Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNa- 2015). David had first obtained the secret documents
mara and the Administrator of NASA, James E. in the course of researching his book. Finally, he had
Webb signed the document. The Secretary of compiled, edited and introduced more than 50 such
Defense Robert S. McNamara served from 1961 to 1968 declassified documents for public viewing at the
under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. National Security Archive at The George Washington
Johnson. He played a major role in escalating the University.
United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War Apparently, the US Congress’s intention in form-
acquiring a bad reputation. ing NASA was different. The US Congress wanted
We will come to the Reconnaissance part of to establish a purely civilian space agency. NASA
NASA later in detail. Before that, a series of ghastly was not supposed to be dragged into a bizarre re-
questions would arise between morality and im- lationship where it had to blend with such black
morality, social ethics and what is considered to be programs run by the US military, intelligence, and
unethical. It is because the National Aeronautics and spy agencies.
Space Administration (NASA) was established in If you go through those declassified documents,
1958 by the US legislation that attempted to create you will find one thing for sure: there were constant
separate and clear-cut civilian and military aeronau- disputes over several issues such as cost sharing,
tical programs. They were supposed to not to mingle encryption of data originally intended for civilian
with each other, through any means. The legislation use, access to classified documents. However, the
directed NASA to conduct peaceful, scientific, tight cooperation had been right over there in prop-
and open aeronautical and space research and er place and there were several agreements between
operations. The same legislation also directed the US NASA and US military and intelligence agencies.
Department of Defense (DoD) to perform these After the Challenger explosion, there was a delay to
activities to military operations and defense. the military satellite launches. Sometimes they came
The collection of released-declassified-docu- into conflict and difference of opinions was there
ments is telling us something else. Science com- but overall space shuttles were used to launch spy
munity suspected something sinister behind these satellites for Reconnaissance purpose. That was
space programs but their voice had sunk to a whisper quite evident.
till date; there was no proof of the NASA’s Secret Re- We know CIA and NSA, but what is NRO? Noth-
lationships with US Defense and Intelligence Agen- ing they (NASA, CIA, and DoD) have done together
cies until recently the declassification took place. is designed to be heard: after all space shuttles are
not meant for carrying spy satellites. But they did
the Secret Side exactly that.
The whisper became a deafening roar over the years, Here comes another journalist-Matt Novak, who
although the classification restrictions had kept most wrote a fantastic investigative report on the same
of the NASA’s secret activities out of the public eye subject on 5/12/2017. The article he wrote is a must-
for a long time. NASA’s secret activities may be sum- read. From that article we came to know about
marised mainly in three categories: first of all, NASA another player, a big player indeed in space-spy-
has covered stories for covert operations by CIA and ing business: NRO or National Reconnaissance
DoD. Secondly, they helped CIA and DoD monitor- Office. This organization is not as well-known as CIA

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