Site Policies

This site includes information about the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The notices which follow apply equally to all areas of this Web site.

Privacy Notices

NRO is committed to protecting your privacy and will not collect any personal information about you unless you choose to provide it to us.

If you simply browse our site:
When you visit the NRO Web site to browse the information it contains, you do so anonymously. During your visit through the site, reading pages, viewing photographs, or downloading information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally.

Information gathered automatically is used for, among other things, site management, compiling reports of site usage statistics, and, in the case of suspected unauthorized activity, for law enforcement and possible criminal prosecution. This gathering and storing of information is separate from the activity described as monitoring in our Security Notice.

The following are representative of the types of information automatically collected and stored about your visit:

  • the Internet domain and Internet Protocol (IP) address from which you access our site;
  • the type of Internet browser and the operating system of the computer you use to access our site;
  • the date and time you visit our site;
  • the pages you visit on our site;
  • if you linked to our site from another site, the address of that site;
  • and, if you linked to our site from a search Web site, the address of that site and the search term you used.

Cookies

A cookie is a text file placed on the hard drive of a computer by some Web pages or Web servers. Cookies cannot run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. They are uniquely assigned to a visitor and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie. Visitors can accept cookies (generally their browser's default setting) or decline them through their browser settings. Persistent cookies remain on a computer's hard drive until the visitor deletes them. Session cookies are deleted automatically when the visitor closes their browser.

In compliance with Office of Management and Budget policy, the NRO Web site does not set persistent cookies on visitors' computers.

Accessibility

The NRO is committed to presenting a Web site that is easily accessible to all users and compliant with Section 508 Standards as defined by the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.

If you encounter any difficulties while accessing information on the NRO.gov Web site, please contact the Office of Office of Public Affairs (OPA) at 703-808-1198 or by FAX at 703-808-1171. Please be sure to indicate the following:

  • The nature of your problem.
  • The Web address (URL) of the page you are having difficulty with.
  • Your contact information.

Accessibility/Section 508

Security Notice

This system and related software and equipment are intended solely for the communication, transmission, processing, and storage of U.S. Government information. For site security purposes and to ensure that this Web site remains available to all users, NRO monitors network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or to otherwise cause damage to the site. Anyone using this Web site expressly consents to such monitoring. All data collection activities are in strict accordance with DoD Directive 5240.1.

Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

If monitoring reveals evidence of possible criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to law enforcement personnel.

General Disclaimer

Information presented on this Web site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied freely unless identified as being subject to copyright protection. In return, we request only that the NRO be cited as the source of any information, photos, and images copied from this site and that any photo credits or bylines be similarly credited to the photographer or author.

We strongly recommend that NRO data be acquired directly from this Web site and not through other sources that may change information in some way or exclude material crucial to the understanding of that information. While the NRO makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, some information may change between site updates. Substantive changes may be noted when content is next updated.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. Neither the U.S. Government nor the NRO controls or guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to Web sites other than the Agency-managed Web site is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the NRO.

The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or the NRO, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Disclaimer of Liability

Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information. However, with the thousands of documents available, often uploaded within short deadlines, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. The NRO  makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this Web site and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this Web site.

With respect to the content of the NRO  Web site, neither the United States Government, nor the NRO, nor their employees and contractors make any warranty, expressed or implied or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, and the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to content available from NRO Web site or other Internet resources linked from it. Additionally, neither the U.S. Government nor the NRO assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein nor freedom from computer virus, and do not represent that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.

Links to this Web Site or its Contents

You may freely link to the NRO Web site or any of its content. We ask only that you identify that the link is to a NRO Internet resource.

Links to Other Sites

Our Web site has links to other United States Government agencies. In a few cases, we link to private organizations, with their permission. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the disclaimers and security and privacy policies of the new site.

Copyright Notice

Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the NRO Web site is in the public domain and may be reproduced, published or otherwise used without the NRO's permission. We request only that the NRO be cited as the source of the information and that any photo credits or bylines be similarly credited to the photographer or author or the NRO, as appropriate.

If a copyright is indicated on a photo, graphic, or any other material, permission to copy these materials must be obtained from the original source.

This copyright notice does not pertain to information at Web sites other than the NRO Web site.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Unauthorized attempts to upload and/or change information on the NRO Web site are strictly prohibited and subject to prosecution under Title 18 U.S.C., §1001 and §1030.

Accessing Declassified Information

If you are interested in documents recently declassified by the NRO you will need to schedule an appointment for a Reading Room visit. Commonly Requested Information is located on the Freedom of Information Act section of this Web site. There is also a Related Links section that includes links to other FOIA Web sites of interest.

Site Management

The NRO’s Office of Office of Public Affairs (OPA) manages the overall information content, design, and, organization of the Web site. OPA also coordinates release of NRO information on the Internet.

Verification or Hard Copy of Content

If you would like verification or a hard copy of information released on the NRO Web site, contact the Office of Public Affairs:

National Reconnaissance Office
Office of Public Affairs
14675 Lee Road
Chantilly, Virginia 20151-1715
Phone: 703-808-5050
Fax: 703-808-1171

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please contact the OSC/OPA at the address, phone, or fax numbers listed in the section above.

National Reconnaissance Office - Above and Beyond