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the ‘Fact of’ the NRO’s Use of the Space Shuttle as a NRO’s ROle iN NAsA’s secRet
Launch Vehicle.” You will get the whole document MissiONs
in Scribd, where he has uploaded it. Although some If you go to the NRO’s web portal (http://www.
vital parts are redacted as well and that is quite nro.gov), you will find hundreds and thousands of
expected. But those redactions had made it more declassified data on NASA’s secret relationship with
conspicuous by its absence. CIA, DoD, and NRO. Before going to explain NASA’s
One of the main questions was whether the secret missions, let us first try to understand properly
NASA’s space shuttles had been used for launch- why NASA was established and with what missions
ing spy satellites? From the document that and visions.
Novak had obtained through an FOIA request, it NASA was established in 1958; at that time it
was not clear, neither it was clear whether NRO succeeded National Advisory Committee for
had helped design the shuttles to carry spy satel- Aeronautics (NACA). It had a distinctly civilian
lites. Although it was not clear from that docu- orientation. It was formed to encourage peaceful
ment, later in the year 2011, Hexagon KH-9 applications in space science and general people
was declassified by NRO and two former NRO were in complete darkness about its secret tie-up
employees Fred Marra, and Bob Zarba described, with US intelligence agencies like CIA or Depart-
in presence of media, the camera operation of the ment of Defense (DOD). Since its inception, NASA
Hexagon KH-9 secret spy satellite. This spy camera conducted most US space explorations. Many of
was launched using the NASA’s space shuttle. which were successful and few of them failed;
Moreover, the document released by NRO however, most space exploration efforts have been
(Figure 1) clearly define the role of NASA in Recon- led by NASA including the Apollo Moon Landing
naissance programs. missions, the Skylab space station and later the

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