Pioneering seven-figure deal expands BlackSky’s product offering, bringing automation and unprecedented speed to pattern-of-life insights for orbiting spacecraft and other objects of interest
HERNDON, Va. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 18, 2024 — BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) was awarded a seven-figure data services contract from HEO to bring automated low-latency capabilities to non-Earth imaging (NEI) services for defense, intelligence and commercial use. Under the agreement, the companies will partner to bring BlackSky’s current constellation into HEO’s NEI sensor network. The contract is now moving into its second phase with a focus on automating the entire tasking-to-delivery process, following a successful initial proof of concept phase.
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An image of the International Space Station collected by a BlackSky Gen-2 satellite as it passed over the Philippines on September 12, 2024. The space station was 85 kilometers away from the BlackSky satellite at the time of capture. According to NASA the space station travels at a speed of 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second. BlackSky and HEO have partnered to bring automated low-latency capabilities to non-Earth imaging (NEI) services for defense, intelligence and commercial use. Joining HEO’s NEI sensor network and activating NEI capabilities gives BlackSky the ability to leverage unused capacity typically associated with satellites passing over the ocean or satellites in eclipse, traveling across the dark side of Earth. (Photo: Business Wire)
BlackSky will provide proprietary mid-inclination orbit, high-resolution imagery to HEO. BlackSky's high-cadence imaging capabilities are expected to increase the feasibility of capturing NEI data over the middle latitudes of Earth. Activating NEI capabilities gives BlackSky the ability to leverage unused capacity typically associated with satellites passing over the ocean or satellites in eclipse, traveling across the dark side of Earth.
"Leveraging the power of real-time dynamic monitoring in the space domain unlocks additional value from BlackSky’s high-resolution constellation,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “Space situational awareness is critically important for our customers as the space domain continues to become a highly contested operational environment. Automatically tasking and receiving NEI products reflects yet another pioneering innovation that gives customers reliable and actionable space-based intelligence about spacecraft or on-orbit objects of interest at mission speed.”
“HEO is driving innovation in space by delivering non-Earth imaging solutions at scale, giving our customers in-orbit insights when timing is crucial,” said Dr. Will Crowe, Co-Founder and CEO of HEO. “Adding BlackSky’s high-resolution constellation to HEO’s sensor network through this partnership will unlock even more applications of NEI data across industries.”
Customers will be able to request NEI products through HEO’s automated tasking and delivery platform, HEO Inspect. Upon request, HEO’s software automatically finds imaging opportunities and sets tasks on BlackSky’s mission scheduling system via API. Once collected, BlackSky NEI imagery and metadata from its current constellation will be transferred into HEO Inspect where object detection and identification algorithms will generate advanced analytics reports that include information such as a satellite’s attitude and location, subsystems identification and pattern-of-life analyses.
About BlackSky
BlackSky is a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence. BlackSky delivers on-demand, high frequency imagery, monitoring and analytics of the most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events in the world.
BlackSky designs, owns and operates one of the industry’s leading low earth orbit small satellite constellations, optimized to capture imagery cost-efficiently where and when our customers need it. BlackSky’s Spectra AI software platform processes data from BlackSky’s constellation and from other third-party sensors to develop the critical insights and analytics that our customers require.
BlackSky is relied upon by U.S. and international government agencies, commercial businesses, and organizations around the world. BlackSky is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as BKSY. To learn more, visit www.blacksky.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter).
About HEO
HEO delivers on-demand non-Earth imagery and insights of spacecraft of interest at scale to government, defense, and commercial customers using a growing constellation of in-space sensors. HEO partners with Earth observation satellite constellations and launches its own non-Earth imaging (NEI) cameras as hosted payloads with the goal to achieve proliferation of NEI sensors on all orbits in the Earth-Moon system. HEO is headquartered in Australia with offices in the UK and USA.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to BlackSky. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document. If any of these risks materialize or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in BlackSky’s disclosure materials filed from time to time with the SEC which are available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or on BlackSky’s Investor Relations website at https://ir.blacksky.com.
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Contact:
Investor Contact
Aly Bonilla
VP, Investor Relations
abonilla@blacksky.com
BlackSky Media Contact
Pauly Cabellon
Sr. Director, External Communications
bksypr@blacksky.com
HEO Media Contact
Dane Brumm
Marketing Manager, HEO
dane@heospace.com
