NRO Developing Proliferated Constellation to Enhance Imaging, Signals Intelligence Capabilities

The National Reconnaissance Office is expanding its constellation of satellites providing imaging and signals intelligence amid increasing threats from adversaries.

In an interview with the Mitchell Institute, Space Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Povak, the NRO’s deputy director, said the new satellites will come in various sizes and will be deployed across diverse orbits to improve the space architecture’s coverage and resilience and increase its signal and image output by 10 times.

According to Povak, the planned proliferated space architecture is expected to have enhanced overhead tasking, collection and data processing capabilities to accelerate the delivery of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data to commanders, providing them with a decisive advantage on the battlefield, Breaking Defense reported.

Speeding up the production timeline is a significant key to developing a resilient, proliferated constellation. Povak said the NRO is now producing multiple satellites annually, noting that the agency previously spent at least six years developing just a single satellite. 

He also shared that the agency is addressing vulnerabilities in ground systems to strengthen their cyber defense.