BlackSky is a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence, operating its own constellation of Earth observation satellites in low Earth orbit. The company delivers on-demand, high-frequency imagery, monitoring, and analytics of critical locations and events using its AI-powered Spectra platform. BlackSky serves government organizations and commercial enterprises, providing them with timely insights and data for strategic decision-making.
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BlackSky is planning a constellation of 60 Earth-observation satellites, of which four are in orbit and eight are expected to launch 2020.
LeoStella is the joint venture between Spaceflight Industries and Thales Alenia Space tasked with building BlackSky’s constellation.
Intelsat signed the BlackSky loan on 2020-10-31.
Intelsat is asking its bankruptcy court for authorization to modify a $50,000,000 loan to Spaceflight Industries’ Earth-observation business BlackSky.
BlackSky analyzed satellite images from various U.S. cities to assess compliance with social distancing during the pandemic.
BlackSky has four satellites in operation and plans to launch eight more later 2020.
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office awarded contracts to multiple commercial imagery providers in 2019 and considered larger procurement contracts to commercial players like Planet and BlackSky in 2020.
BlackSky has four satellites in orbit and plans to launch eight more later 2020.
The eight planned BlackSky launches are part of a group of 20 satellites under production at LeoStella, Spaceflight Industries’ joint venture with Thales Alenia Space to manufacture small satellites.
Spaceflight Industries will use the proceeds from the sale to accelerate the growth of BlackSky, its geospatial intelligence business.
BlackSky secured a $50,000,000 senior secured loan from Intelsat on 2019-11-12.
The new capital from Intelsat will help BlackSky meet its goal of deploying a 16-satellite constellation by 2021.
Intelsat will gain access to new markets and customers moving content through its networks by providing financial support to BlackSky.
In June 2019 the National Reconnaissance Office awarded study contracts to BlackSky, Maxar Technologies, and Planet to evaluate how commercial imagery providers could satisfy NRO needs relative to EnhancedView.
Scott Herman, chief technology officer for BlackSky, views a $2,000,000,000 satellite cost to obtain 10-centimeter resolution as prohibitive for a purely commercial business case.
Maxar won study contracts with Planet and BlackSky from the National Reconnaissance Office in June to assess commercial provider capabilities.
BlackSky is preparing to launch an Earth observation satellite built by LeoStella and equipped with Bradford’s Comet thruster on a Rocket Lab Electron mission scheduled for 2019-08-16.
BlackSky’s Global-3 launched on an Electron mission on 2019-06-29.
Global-3 weighed about 60 kg and was BlackSky’s first satellite to go into a medium-inclination orbit to provide faster revisit times over selected areas of the Earth.
BlackSky had two Earth-observation satellites in operation in 2019 and planned to have eight in service by the end of 2019.