Ultrasecret satellite spy shop NRO turns 50

WASHINGTON (AP) - September 16, 2011 (WPVI) -- The nation's top satellite spy master says the National Reconnaissance Office is back on target with its budget and with new programs that help hunt everything from al-Qaida bomb planters to illegal North Korean nuclear plants.

In rare public comments as the NRO turns 50, director Bruce Carlson lambasted its failed multibillion-dollar satellite program known as Future Imagery Architecture as a "colossal failure." The original contract was canceled because of cost overruns and technological failures.

Carlson says all NRO programs are back on schedule and under budget. He hails the recent launch of six satellites in seven months as "the best we've done in about 25 years."

The NRO was founded in 1961 to spy on the Soviet Union, China and other enemies in the U.S. battle against communism.

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