NRO Mission Numbers

The National Reconnaissance Office is assigning "Mission" numbers to satellite-borne reconnaissance and intelligence payloads. If the payload is the primary or only payload of a satellite, the Mission number is frequently used to refer to the mission of that specific satellite as a whole. The Mission numbers are assigned in "blocks" for some common program or scope, typically defined by a multiple of 100. This "base number" (XX00) is then used to refer to the program/scope in general, while the individual Mission numbers run XX01 and up.

The NRO Mission numbers are classified. Therefore most numbers listed here refer to older, now declassified, programs. A few others have been leaked to the public, but in general, the Mission numbers for current or recent programs are unknown.

Mission 1000

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the CORONA program using the KH-4A camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
1001...1052	CORONA (KH-4A)

Mission 1100

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the CORONA program using the KH-4B camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
1101...1117	CORONA (KH-4B)

Mission 1200

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the HEXAGON program using the KH-9 camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
1201...1220	HEXAGON (KH-9)

Mission 3100

Scope: Radar-reconnaissance satellites.

Mission	Name / Program
3101...3105	ONYX

Mission 4000

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the GAMBIT program using the KH-7 camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
4001...4038	GAMBIT-1 (KH-7)

Mission 4300

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the GAMBIT-3 program using the KH-8 camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
4301...4354	GAMBIT-3 (KH-8)

Mission 7000

Scope: Secondary vulnerability detection payloads on Agena spacecraft.

Mission	Program	Host Satellite	Launch
7001...7004	(No information)
7005	STOPPER	CORONA 64, Mission 8002, 1963-016A	18 May 1963
7006	STOPPER	CORONA 66, Mission 9056, 1963-025A	27 Jun 1963
7007	STOPPER	CORONA 68, Mission 8003, 1963-032A	31 Jul 1963
7008	STOPPER	Program 698BK, Mission 7156, 1964-011A	28 Feb 1964
7009	STOPPER	Program 698BK, Mission 7155, 1964-035A	2 Jul 1964
7010	STOPPER	GAMBIT-1 13, Mission 4013, 1964-068A	23 Oct 1964
7011	STOPPER	Program 770, Mission 7158, 1965-055A	17 Jul 1965

Mission 7050

Scope: Secondary payloads on CORONA (KH-4A/B) and GAMBIT (KH-8) satellites to detect Soviet attempts to track the satellite, tap into its command link, or otherwise interfere with its operation.

The BIT mission numbers after Mission 7094 are redacted in source [6]. It's not unlikely, that the series was continued as Mission 7800, after 7099 had been reached.

Mission	Program	Host Satellite	Launch
7051	BIT	CORONA 86, Mission 1011, 1964-061A	5 Oct 1964
7052	BIT	CORONA 88, Mission 1013, 1964-071A	2 Nov 1964
7053	BIT	CORONA 89, Mission 1014, 1964-075A	18 Nov 1964
7054	BIT	CORONA 90, Mission 1015, 1964-085A	19 Dec 1964
7055	BIT	CORONA 91, Mission 1016, 1965-002A	15 Jan 1965
7056	BIT	CORONA 92, Mission 1017, 1965-013A	25 Feb 1965
7057	BIT	CORONA 93, Mission 1018, 1965-026A	25 Mar 1965
7058	BIT	CORONA 94, Mission 1019, 1965-033A	29 Apr 1965
7059	BIT	CORONA 96, Mission 1020, 1965-045A	9 Jun 1965
7060	BIT	CORONA 95, Mission 1021, 1965-037A	18 May 1965
7061	BIT	CORONA 97, Mission 1022, 1965-057A	19 Jul 1965
7062	BIT	CORONA 98, Mission 1023, 1965-067A	17 Aug 1965
7063	BIT II	CORONA 100, Mission 1024, 1965-074A	22 Sep 1965
7064	BIT II	CORONA 105, Mission 1029, 1966-007A	2 Feb 1966
7065	BIT II	CORONA 106, Mission 1030, 1966-018A	9 Mar 1966
7066	BIT II	CORONA 107, Mission 1031, 1966-029A	7 Apr 1966
7067	BIT II	CORONA 109, Mission 1033, 1966-042A	24 May 1966
7068	BIT II	GAMBIT-1 29, Mission 4029, 1966-048A	3 Jun 1966
7069	BIT II	CORONA 110, Mission 1034, 1966-055A	21 Jun 1966
7070	BIT II	CORONA 111, Mission 1036, 1966-072A	9 Aug 1966
7071	BIT II	CORONA 112, Mission 1035, 1966-085A	20 Sep 1966
7072	BIT II	CORONA 113, Mission 1037, 1966-102A	8 Nov 1966
7073	BIT II	CORONA 114, Mission 1038, 1967-002A	14 Jan 1967
7074	BIT IV	CORONA 115, Mission 1039, 1967-015A	22 Feb 1967
7075	BIT IV	CORONA 116, Mission 1040, 1967-029A	30 Mar 1967
7076	BIT II	CORONA 117, Mission 1041, 1967-043A	9 May 1967
7077	BIT IV	CORONA 118, Mission 1042, 1967-062A	16 Jun 1967
7078	BIT IV	CORONA 119, Mission 1043, 1967-076A	7 Aug 1967
7079	BIT IV	CORONA 120, Mission 1101, 1967-087A	15 Sep 1967
7080	BIT IV	CORONA 121, Mission 1044, 1967-109A	2 Nov 1967
7081	BIT IV	CORONA 122, Mission 1102, 1967-122A	9 Dec 1967
7082	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 10, Mission 4310, 1967-121A	5 Dec 1967
7083	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 11, Mission 4311, 1968-005A	18 Jan 1968
7084	BIT IV	CORONA 123, Mission 1045, 1968-008A	24 Jan 1968
7085	BIT V	GAMBIT-3 12, Mission 4312, 1968-018A	13 Mar 1968
7086	BIT IV	CORONA 124, Mission 1046, 1968-020A	14 Mar 1968
7087	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 13, Mission 4313, 1968-031A	17 Apr 1968
7088	BIT IV	CORONA 125, Mission 1103, 1968-039A	1 May 1968
7089	BIT V	GAMBIT-3 14, Mission 4314, 1968-047A	5 Jun 1968
7090	BIT IV	CORONA 126, Mission 1047, 1968-052A	20 Jun 1968
7091	BIT V	GAMBIT-3 15, Mission 4315, 1968-064A	6 Aug 1968
7092	BIT V	CORONA 127, Mission 1104, 1968-065A	7 Aug 1968
7093	BIT V	GAMBIT-3 16, Mission 4316, 1968-074A	10 Sep 1968
7094	BIT IV	CORONA 128, Mission 1048, 1968-078A	18 Sep 1968
?	BIT IV	POPPY 6, Mission 7106	30 Sep 1969
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 24, Mission 4324, 1969-095A	24 Oct 1969
?	BIT IV	CORONA 136, Mission 1108, 1969-105A	4 Dec 1969
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 25, Mission 4325, 1970-002A	14 Jan 1970
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 26, Mission 4326, 1970-031A	15 Apr 1970
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 27, Mission 4327, 1970-048A	25 Jun 1970
?	BIT IV	CORONA 139, Mission 1111, 1970-054A	23 Jul 70
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 28, Mission 4328, 1970-061A	18 Aug 1970
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 29, Mission 4329, 1970-090A	23 Oct 1970
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 30, Mission 4330, 1971-005A	21 Jan 1971
?	BIT IV-7	CORONA 142, Mission 1114, 1971-022A	24 Mar 71
?	BIT IV	GAMBIT-3 31, Mission 4331, 1971-033A	22 Apr 1971
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 32, Mission 4332, 1971-070A	12 Aug 1971
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 33, Mission 4333, 1971-092A	23 Oct 1971
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 34, Mission 4334, 1972-016A	17 Mar 1972
?	BIT IV-7	CORONA 144, Mission 1116, 1972-032A	19 Apr 1972
?	BIT IV-7	CORONA 145, Mission 1117, 1972-039A	25 May 1972
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 36, Mission 4336, 1972-068A	1 Sep 1972
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 37, Mission 4337, 1972-103A	21 Dec 1972
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 38, Mission 4338, 1973-028A	16 May 1973
?	BIT IV-7	GAMBIT-3 40, Mission 4340, 1973-068A	27 Sep 1973
?	BIT IX-6	GAMBIT-3 41, Mission 4341, 1974-007A	13 Feb 1974
?	BIT IX-6	GAMBIT-3 42, Mission 4342, 1974-042A	6 Jun 1974
?	BIT IX-6	GAMBIT-3 43, Mission 4343, 1974-065A	14 Aug 1974

Mission 7100

Scope: Low-Earth Orbit ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) systems run by the Navy.

Mission	Name / Program
7101...7107	POPPY
7108...7120	PARCAE

Mission 7150

Scope: Low-Earth Orbit ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) systems run by the Air Force (SAMOS F-2 and follow-up programs).

Mission	Name / Program
7151...7152	Program 102
7153...7157	Program 698BK
7158...7160	Program 770
7161...7163	Program 770 (MULTIGROUP)
7164...7168	Program 770 (STRAWMAN)

Mission 7200

Scope: Small ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) systems, flown as secondary payloads on larger satellites.

Mission	Payload Name	Host Satellite	Launch
7201	AFTRACK 26 / PLYMOUTH ROCK 1	CORONA 56, Mission 9048, 1962-065A	24 Nov 1962
7202	AFTRACK 27 / WILD BILL 2	POPPY 1, Mission 7101, 1962-067F	13 Dec 1962
7203	AFTRACK 28 / RED VINO 1	CORONA 57, Mission 9049, 1962-066A	4 Dec 1962
7204	AFTRACK 29 / TAKI 3	CORONA 58, Mission 9050, 1962-069A	14 Dec 1962
7205	AFTRACK 30 / NEW JERSEY 2	CORONA 59, Mission 9051, 1963-002A	7 Jan 1963
7206	AFTRACK 31 / RED VINO 2	CORONA 60, Mission 9052, Launch failure	28 Feb 1963
7207	AFTRACK 32 / WILD BILL 3	CORONA 65, Mission 9054, 1963-019A	12 Jun 1963
7208	AFTRACK 34 / PLYMOUTH ROCK 2	Program 698BK, Mission 7154, 1963-027A	29 Jun 1963
7209	(No information)
7210	AFTRACK 37 / HAYLOFT	POPPY 3, Mission 7103, 1964-001A	11 Jan 1964
7211	BIRD DOG 1	Program 698BK, Mission 7155, 1964-035A	2 Jul 1964
7212	BIRD DOG 2	Program 698BK, Mission 7156, 1964-011A	28 Feb 1964
7213	BIRD DOG 3	Program 698BK, Mission 7157, 1964-072A	4 Nov 1964
7214	(No information)
7215	AFTRACK 40 / OPPORKNOCKITY	CORONA 84, Mission 9064A, 1964-048A	21 Aug 1964
7216	AFTRACK 33 / WILD BILL 4	POPPY 2, Mission 7102, 1963-021A	15 Jun 1963
7217	(No information)
7218	AFTRACK 36 / LONG JOHN 1	CORONA 75, Mission 9062, 1963-055A	21 Dec 1963
7219	AFTRACK 35 / LONG JOHN 2	CORONA 74, Mission 9061, 1963-048A	27 Nov 1963
7220	(No information)
7221	(No information)
7222	AFTRACK 38 / LONG JOHN 3	CORONA 76, Mission 1004, 1964-008A	5 Feb 1964
7223 *	NEW HAMPSHIRE	Cancelled
7224	AFTRACK 39 / LONG JOHN 4	CORONA 80, Mission 9063A, 1964-030A	13 Jun 1964
7225 *	AFTRACK 41 / SQUARE TWENTY	CORONA 102, Mission 1026, 1965-086A	28 Oct 1965
7226	BIRD DOG 4	Program 770, Mission 7158, 1965-055A	17 Jul 1965
7227	(No information)
7228	SETTER 1	Program 770, Mission 7160, 1966-009A	09 Feb 1966
7229	SETTER 1A	Program 770, Mission 7161, 1966-118A	29 Dec 1966
7230	SETTER 1B 1	Program 770, Mission 7162, 1967-071A	25 Jul 1967
7231	AFTRACK 42 / DONKEY	Program 770, Mission 7162, 1967-071A	25 Jul 1967
7232	SETTER 1B 2	Program 770, Mission 7163, 1968-004A	17 Jan 1968
7233	REAPER 1	Program 770, Mission 7164, 1968-086A	5 Oct 1968
7234	REAPER 2	Program 770, Mission 7165, 1969-065A	31 Jul 1969
7235	REAPER 3	Program 770, Mission 7166, 1970-066A	26 Aug 1970
7236	REAPER 4	Program 770, Mission 7167, 1971-060A	16 Jul 1971
7237	REAPER 5	Program 770, Mission 7168, Cancelled
7238	CONVOY 1	Program 770, Mission 7164, 1968-086A	5 Oct 1968
7239	CONVOY 2	Program 770, Mission 7165, 1969-065A	31 Jul 1969
7240	HARVESTER	Program 770, Mission 7167, 1971-060A	16 Jul 1971
7241	LORRI 1	HEXAGON 16, Mission 1216, 1980-052A	18 Jun 1980
7242	LORRI 2	HEXAGON 20, Mission 1220, Launch failure	18 Apr 1986

* Note: 7223 and 7225 may be reversed. NRO sources give confliction information.

From Mission 7243 onwards, the payloads flew on independent (sub-)satellites.

Mission	Payload Name	Satellite Name	COSPAR ID	Launch	Launch Vehicle
7243	GLORIA 1	USA 41	1989-061C	8 Aug 1989	Space Shuttle Columbia
7244	GLORIA 2	USA 70	1991-031C	28 Apr 1991	Space Shuttle Discovery
7245	CARRIE	USA 102 / DARPASAT	1994-017B	13 Mar 1994	Taurus-1110
7246	Planned as "CAPS"? - No further information
7247	TAOS	USA 101 / STEP-0	1994-017A	13 Mar 1994	Taurus-1110

Mission 7300

Scope: Small ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) satellites, launched as subsatellites and separated from their host in space.

All Mission 7300 satellites were based on the Lockheed P-11 satellite bus. Sometimes more than one Mission 7300 payload was flown on the same satellite.

Mission	Payload Name	Satellite Name	COSPAR ID	Host Satellite	Launch
7301	PUNDIT 1		1963-042B	CORONA 72, Mission 9059A, 1963-042A	29 Oct 1963
7302	PUNDIT 2		1963-055B	CORONA 75, Mission 9062, 1963-055A	21 Dec 1963
7303	PUNDIT 3		-	GAMBIT-1 12, Mission 4012, Launch failure	7 Oct 1964
7304	NOAH'S ARK	OPS 4923	1964-036B	GAMBIT-1 9, Mission 4009, 1964-036A	6 Jul 1964
7305 7306	STEP THIRTEEN PLYMOUTH ROCK 3	OPS 5063	1964-068B	GAMBIT-1 13, Mission 4013, 1964-068A	23 Oct 1964
7307 7308	FANION 1 TRIPOS 1	OPS 6749	1965-050A	GAMBIT-1 19, Mission 4019, 1965-050B	25 Jun 1965
7309	PUNDIT 4	OPS 6717	1965-031B	GAMBIT-1 17, Mission 4017, 1965-031A	28 Apr 1965
7310 7311	LEIGE PLICAT	OPS 6785	1966-039B	GAMBIT-1 28, Mission 4028, 1966-039A	14 May 1966
7312	MAGNUM	OPS 6761	1965-062B	GAMBIT-1 21, Mission 4021, 1965-062A	3 Aug 1965
7313	WESTON	OPS 1807	1969-082A	POPPY 6, Mission 7106	30 Sep 1969
7314 7315	SAMPAN 1 SOUSEA 1	OPS 6810	1966-074B	GAMBIT-1 31, Mission 4031, 1966-074A	16 Aug 1966
7316	SLEWTO	OPS 1967	1967-043B	CORONA 117, Mission 1041, 1967-043A	9 May 1967
7317 7318	FANION 2 TRIPOS 2	OPS 6874	1966-083B	GAMBIT-1 32, Mission 4032, 1966-083A	16 Sep 1966
7319	FANION 3	OPS 1967	1967-043B	CORONA 117, Mission 1041, 1967-043A	9 May 1967
7320	SAVANT 1	OPS 1873	1967-062B	CORONA 118, Mission 1042, 1967-062A	16 Jun 1967
7321	FACADE	OPS 1587	1967-109B	CORONA 121, Mission 1044, 1967-109A	2 Nov 1967
7322 7323	LAMPAN 1 SAMPAN 2	OPS 7076	1968-020B	CORONA 124, Mission 1046, 1968-020A	14 Mar 1968
7324	TIVOLI 1	OPS 6236	1968-008B	CORONA 123, Mission 1045, 1968-008A	24 Jan 1968
7325	VAMPAN 1	OPS 8595	1968-078B	CORONA 128, Mission 1048, 1968-078A	18 Sep 1968
7326 7327	TRIPOS 3 SOUSEA 2	OPS 5259	1968-052B	CORONA 126, Mission 1047, 1968-052A	20 Jun 1968
7328 7329	LAMPAN 2 SAMPAN 3	OPS 1721	1969-041B	CORONA 133, Mission 1051, 1969-041A	2 May 1969
7330	TIVOLI 2	OPS 2285	1969-026B	CORONA 132, Mission 1050, 1969-026A	19 Mar 1969
7331	TIVOLI 3	OPS 3402	1970-016B	CORONA 137, Mission 1109, 1970-016A	04 Mar 1970
7332 7333	TRIPOS 4 SOUSEA 3	OPS 8520	1970-040B	CORONA 138, Mission 1110, 1970-040A	20 May 1970
7334	TOPHAT 1	OPS 6829	1970-098B	CORONA 140, Mission 1112, 1970-098A	18 Nov 1970
7335	VAMPAN 2	Cancelled
7336	SAVANT 2	OPS 4710	1969-079B	CORONA 135, Mission 1052, 1969-079A	22 Sep 1969
7337	ARROYO	OPS 7681	1971-076B	CORONA 143, Mission 1115, 1971-076A	10 Sep 1971
7338	URSALA 1	OPS 7803	1972-052C	HEXAGON 3, Mission 1203, 1972-052A	7 Jul 1972
7339	MABELI	OPS 7719	1972-002D	HEXAGON 2, Mission 1202, 1972-002A	20 Jan 1972
7340	TOPHAT 2	OPS 4547	1974-020C	HEXAGON 8, Mission 1208, 1974-020A	10 Apr 1974
7341	RAQUEL 1	OPS 6239	1974-085B	HEXAGON 9, Mission 1209, 1974-085A	29 Oct 1974
7342	URSALA 2	OPS 7705	1973-088C	HEXAGON 7, Mission 1207, 1973-088A	10 Nov 1973
7343	URSALA 3	OPS 5366	1976-065C	HEXAGON 12, Mission 1212, 1976-065A	8 Jul 1976
7344	URSALA 4	OPS 6675	1979-025B	HEXAGON 15, Mission 1215, 1979-025A	16 Mar 1979
7345	RAQUEL 1A	OPS 7858	1978-029B	HEXAGON 14, Mission 1214, 1978-029A	16 Mar 1978
7346	FARRAH 1	OPS 6553	1982-041C	HEXAGON 17, Mission 1217, 1982-041A	11 May 1982
7347	FARRAH 2	USA 3	1984-065C	HEXAGON 19, Mission 1219, 1984-065A	25 Jun 1984

Missions 7348 to 7350 were launched on dedicated launch vehicles.

Mission	Payload Name	Satellite Name	COSPAR ID	Launch	Launch Vehicle
7348	FARRAH 3	USA 32	1988-078A	5 Sep 1988	Titan-2(23)G
7349	FARRAH 4	USA 45	1989-072A	6 Sep 1989	Titan-2(23)G
7350	FARRAH 5	USA 81	1992-023A	25 Apr 1992	Titan-2(23)G

Mission 7400

Unidentied program

Mission 7500

Scope: Geostationary COMINT (Communication Intelligence) satellites.

Mission 7500 was eventually combined with Mission 7600 into Mission 8300.

Mission	Name / Program
7501...7507	CANYON
7508...7516	CHALET / VORTEX / MERCURY

Mission 7600

Scope: Geostationary SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) satellites.

Mission 7600 was eventually combined with Mission 7500 into Mission 8300.

Mission	Name / Program
7601...7604	RHYOLITE / AQUACADE
7605...7608	ORION

Mission 7800

Unidentied program; probably a secondary payload on Agena vehicles for skin-tracking and/or attack verification; probably related to or a continuation of Mission 7050.

Mission 8000

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the CORONA program using the KH-6 (LANYARD) camera system.

Mission	Name / Program
8001...8003	CORONA (KH-6 LANYARD)

Mission 8200

Unidentied program; used in conjunction with Mission 8300 to gather OPELINT (Operational Electronic Intelligence) geolocation data.

Mission 8300

Scope: Geostationary SIGINT satellites, which combine the capabilities of the earlier 7500 and 7600 missions.

Mission	Name / Program
8301...8308	ORION

Mission 9000

Scope: Photo-reconnaissance systems of the CORONA program using the KH-1 to KH-5 camera systems.

Mission	Name
9001...9064	CORONA (KH-1 to KH-5)

Main Sources

[1] Dwayne A. Day: Stars in the sky: The top secret URSALA, RAQUEL, and FARRAH satellites from the 1970s to the 21st century, The Space Review, March 2025
[2] David D. Bradburn et.al.: The SIGINT Satellite Story, NRO, 1994
[3] Mission 7300 Evolution, NRO
[4] A Brief History of the LEO Program, NRO, August 1991
[5] Various other declassified NRO documents
[6] NSA in Space, NSA, April 1975

Back to Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 3

Last Updated: 11 August 2025