Page 17 - 31JAN2018E

space spying

• Figure 1 DOD/CIA/NASA Agreement on NASA’s • Figure 2 US Defense Secretary Robert S.
Reconnaissance Program McNamara’s letter to NASA’s administrator
James E. Webb

and NSA. The handling of space Reconnaissance down America’s spy plane while it was taking photo-
is not as popular concept as keeping surveillance graphs. After that the US felt the necessity of building
on general people. CIA and NSA are directly related a system which could conduct the space reconnais-
to common people’s interest, so everyone shouts sance taking photographs of the whole world accu-
with utmost strength about them. The profile of rately and perfectly without the fear of getting shot.
NRO, on the contrary, in this debate has been low; So, one after another, NRO successfully launched
although this agency plays a pivotal role in keep- high-quality advanced spy-satellite camera to the
ing an eye on the planet for America’s intelligence space – U2, CORONA, GAMBIT-KH7, GAMBIT-KH8
community. You just cannot dream how advanced and in 1971 the HEXAGON-KH9. In many cases NRO
cameras and satellite are used in keeping tabs on worked with NASA, we will see the documents in
the entire planet from above, and this folk NRO the later part of this article. Along with the Central
is responsible for that. According to Matt Novak’s Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agen-
investigative report, the NRO’s budget is highly cy (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and
secret, but it’s estimated to be at least ten billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA),
dollars per year or it may be more. NRO has become one of the “big five” U.S. intelli-
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a gence agencies.
highly valued Intelligence agency. It has a slogan Matt Novak had filed a Freedom of Informa-
in Latin: SUPRA ET ULTRA. It means ‘Above and tion Act (FOIA) request for the document with the
beyond above’. This organization is the ‘America’s National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and received
Eyes and Ears in Space’. In 1956 Soviet Union shot a 17-page document, which is titled “Declassifying

Tehelka / 31 january 2019 17 www.Tehelka.com