AFWERX Announces BlackSky Among Top Teams Selected to Exhibit at EngageSpace (September 29-30), the Premier Event for the Space Industry

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HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

AFWERX, the catalyst for fostering innovation within the U.S. Air Force, announced BlackSky as one of the 178 top participating teams selected from The AFWERX Space Challenge initiative to exhibit at EngageSpace, a virtual two-day event on September 29-30.

The AFWERX Space Challenge initiative is made up of four challenges targeted at creating integrated space operations leveraging the best in technology while maintaining security, being resilient and increasing agility. Four challenges were run concurrently focused on separate topics – Persistent ISR, DoD Commercial Space Partnerships, Global Space Transport and Delivery and Space Asset Resiliency.

Located in Herndon, Virginia, and Seattle, Washington, BlackSky is competing in the Persistent ISR Challenge alongside a diverse group of teams that represent entrepreneurial startups, small businesses, large enterprises, academic institutions and research labs.

“The solutions submitted for these space challenges represent the bleeding edge of space innovation,” stated Brennan Townley, AFWERX Challenge Collaboration Lead. “We’re excited to highlight these innovators and connect them with opportunities across the Space ecosystem.”

The Persistent ISR Challenge strives to bring together the existing and future technology solutions to create a comprehensive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) system that spans the globe.

BlackSky’s submission is an end-to-end persistent ISR monitoring solution to support the U.S. Air Force’s and Department of Defense’s find, fix, track, and assess mission. BlackSky supports this mission by aligning its global monitoring and intelligence solution to the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) architecture. The company’s solution consists of its imaging constellation and its cloud-based Spectra platform that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities, such as object detection and change detection, to decrease the time from data collection to decision.

The EngageSpace event will feature highly engaging opportunities to connect, educate and innovate with other like-minded attendees, industry leaders, individual innovators, academia, investors, as well as military and government leaders. The entire event is designed to transform and accelerate the industry and enable government buyers to pursue the most promising innovative solutions to the most pressing and threatening Space scenarios.

Register for the EngageSpace event by visiting https://engage.space.

“We are honored BlackSky has been selected to exhibit at EngageSpace,” said Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. “Our rapid deployment of space-based remote sensing capabilities and our industry leading AI-driven analytics platform offers first-to-know insights to support a wide range of missions and commercial applications. We are excited to continue driving innovation with space operations and technology to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

About BlackSky LLC

BlackSky is a global monitoring company. We monitor activities and facilities worldwide by harnessing the world’s emerging sensor networks and leveraging our own satellite constellation. We process millions of observations daily from space, air, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Industrial IoT, and Internet-enabled narrative sources. BlackSky’s on-demand swarm of satellites can image a location multiple times throughout the day. We monitor for pattern-of-life anomalies to produce alerts that enhance situational awareness. Our monitoring service is powered by cutting-edge compute techniques including machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and natural language processing. BlackSky’s global monitoring is available via a simple subscription and requires no IT infrastructure or setup. For more information visit www.blacksky.com.

ABOUT AFWERX

Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force, directly envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Her vision of AFWERX — to solve some of the toughest challenges that the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst our nation’s top subject matter experts. AFWERX serves as a catalyst to unleash new approaches for the warfighter through a growing ecosystem of innovators. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts.

Fast Company named AFWERX Best Workplaces for Innovators on the 2020 List, honoring the top 100 businesses and organizations that demonstrate a deep commitment to encouraging innovation at all levels. AFWERX, U.S. Air Force’s innovation arm and catalyst for fostering innovation within the Air Force, came in at #16 ranking in the top 20 alongside brands such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Preview the live announcement with Stephanie Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company, unveiled during the AFWERX Fusion 2020 Base of the Future Event & Showcase.

BlackSky Media Contact:
Colleen Moffitt
colleen@communiquepr.com
Office: 206-282-4923 ext. 113
Mobile: 206-979-4696

AFWERX Media Contacts:
Tracy Skenandore / Makenzie Coombs
AFWERX@kirvindoak.com

Source: BlackSky LLC

Released September 21, 2020