Organization
NRO Program B
- On the record: the CIA's SIGINT satellite program inside the NRO, with its ground station at Pine Gap.
- The claims: Inman named its director, Evan Hineman, as the man to ask about crash retrievals.
- Gerb's model (hypothesis): Hineman may have worked legacy programs out of Pine Gap.
The CIA Directorate of Science and Technology's satellite arm inside the NRO, which built and ran signals-intelligence satellites with a ground station at Pine Gap, Australia. Its director from 1982 to 1989 was R. Evan Hineman, the man Admiral Inman named in 1989 as the one to ask about recovered craft; the Perry panel advised it and TRW's Special Projects built its satellites. UAP Gerb thinks Hineman may have worked on legacy programs out of Pine Gap.
On the record
- The NRO's Programs A to D, replaced by directorates in 1992.
- Program B's ground station at Pine Gap.
- Hineman as director, 1982 to 1989.
- TRW Special Projects as builder of its SIGINT satellites.
Claims (7)
Until 1992 the NRO ran four programs: A with the Air Force's satellite elements, B with the CIA Directorate of Science and Technology's satellite elements, C with the Navy, and D with the CIA's aircraft such as the A-12 OXCART. In 1992 they gave way to functional directorates.National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)Central Intelligence AgencyfirsthandOn the recordNRO history (cited by UAP Gerb)
Program B was a joint NRO and CIA program to build and operate satellites for signals intelligence. Its ground element was, and still is, at Pine Gap, Australia.Pine Gap, AustraliafirsthandOn the recordNRO history (cited by UAP Gerb)
R. Evan Hineman directed Program B from 1982 to 1989 and was the first chief of its facility at Pine Gap; he was also CIA deputy director for science and technology.R. Evan HinemanPine Gap, AustraliafirsthandSourced, unconfirmedNRO history (cited by UAP Gerb)
In 1989 Admiral Bobby Ray Inman named Hineman to Bob Oechsler as the man to speak to about crash retrievals.Bobby Ray InmanBob OechslerR. Evan HinemanfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedBobby Ray Inman
The Perry panel, chaired by William J. Perry, advised Program B on all overhead SIGINT collection systems.William PerryfirsthandOn the recordNRO history (cited by UAP Gerb)
TRW Systems Group's Special Projects, led in 1965 by chief scientist Bill Carson, was instrumental in building Program B's SIGINT satellites.TRW Inc.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedTRW records (cited by UAP Gerb)
Hineman could have been working on UFO legacy programs in the 1980s out of Pine Gap, inside a joint CIA and NRO program.R. Evan HinemanPine Gap, AustraliaspeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)
Connected
Central Intelligence Agency orgNational Reconnaissance Office (NRO) orgTRW Inc. orgBobby Ray Inman personR. Evan Hineman personUAP Gerb (Sam) personWilliam Perry personPine Gap, Australia place