“BlackSky has demonstrated incredible, industry-leading speed for launch to on-orbit operations, completing commissioning for our first Gen-3 satellite a full month ahead of schedule,” said CEO Brian O’Toole. “This pace of performance is a testament to our team’s experience, quality and rigor of our design, production and test practices, giving BlackSky a distinct advantage for scaling this service quickly and reliably for our customers.”
The commissioning process began immediately after the satellite’s deployment and included tracking, initial contact, and activation of key subsystems. The Gen-3 satellite produced imagery within five days and AI-enabled analytics within three weeks of launch.
BlackSky is receiving strong positive feedback from early users of its very high-resolution 35-centimetre imagery. Customers have reported the ability to identify minute details such as sunroofs on cars and individual people with their shadows.
“The crispness and detail have enhanced the utility of these data products by giving users the ability to make observations often accomplished with higher resolution systems,” said O’Toole. “This incredible amount of detail, combined with AI-enabled analytics makes available an expansive new set of mission solutions and reduces the speed of analyses over large volumes of imagery from days to minutes.”
The company is preparing for the launch of its second Gen-3 satellite, scheduled for Q2 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The regular cadence of Gen-3 launches will support both short-term customer access and long-term demand for real-time space-based monitoring services.
“The regular cadence of Gen-3 launches will produce a robust combination of capacity and low-latency, high-revisit capabilities,” O’Toole stated. This will enable the integration of high-cadence, very high-resolution imagery into customers’ daily workflows later this year.
BlackSky is a space-based intelligence provider specialising in real-time imagery and analytics for critical and strategic global locations. The company’s systems combine the BlackSky Spectra® software platform with a proprietary low earth orbit satellite constellation.
BlackSky’s services are trusted by leading U.S. and international government agencies as well as commercial enterprises. With its technology, customers are equipped to see, understand and respond to changes with speed and strategic precision.
