New BlackSky Satellites Deliver First Images Within 58 Hours of Launch

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Images Immediately Provide Customers Actionable Insights

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BlackSky, a leading provider of global monitoring services, geospatial intelligence and satellite imagery, announced it has completed initial system checkouts and has begun delivering imagery from its fifth and sixth satellites 58 hours after launch. Taking full advantage of the advanced analytics offered by its Spectra AI platform, BlackSky is now providing customers high velocity insights that were previously unattainable.

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In the first port image BlackSky captured, three images were collected in rapid succession over Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on August 10, 2020, at 11:31 a.m. local time. By analyzing these images, BlackSky is able to extract critical economic and financial indicators to offer a near-real-time view of commercial activity in Port Elizabeth. In particular, with the assistance of Spectra AI, BlackSky can count the number of container stacks in the container yard, identify the container and bulk carrier ships currently berthed, count the number of vehicles awaiting export in the car terminal, track ground vehicle movements, and even determine which cargo holds are actively being loaded. With the ever-increasing revisit rates offered by the BlackSky Global constellation and the advanced automation capabilities enabled by Spectra AI, economic activity is revealed at a velocity previously thought impossible. (Photo: Business Wire)

In the first port image BlackSky captured, three images were collected in rapid succession over Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on August 10, 2020, at 11:31 a.m. local time. By analyzing these images, BlackSky is able to extract critical economic and financial indicators to offer a near-real-time view of commercial activity in Port Elizabeth. In particular, with the assistance of Spectra AI, BlackSky can count the number of container stacks in the container yard, identify the container and bulk carrier ships currently berthed, count the number of vehicles awaiting export in the car terminal, track ground vehicle movements, and even determine which cargo holds are actively being loaded. With the ever-increasing revisit rates offered by the BlackSky Global constellation and the advanced automation capabilities enabled by Spectra AI, economic activity is revealed at a velocity previously thought impossible. (Photo: Business Wire)

“The rate and volume at which our customers are consuming global monitoring information is increasing dramatically,” said Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. “To help customers immediately access critical information, BlackSky has developed GEOINT technologies combined with machine learning to rapidly deploy and seamlessly integrate satellites into our product suite. The speed with which we were able to reach first light demonstrates our ability to move industry benchmarks forward so our customers are always the first to know.”

The addition of these satellites to the BlackSky constellation increases opportunities for intraday observation of customer targets and reduces decision-making timelines. In collaboration with satellite manufacturing partner LeoStella, BlackSky has an active assembly line delivering two satellites per month.

BlackSky’s latest two satellites were launched into an inclined orbit at 1:12 a.m. EDT on August 7 via SpaceX’s Starlink mission. The satellites provide panchromatic and color imagery with submeter resolution. BlackSky now has six satellites on orbit and plans to launch six additional satellites by the end of Q1 2021, advancing its dawn-to-dusk global monitoring capability.

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 and 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.

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

 

Source: BlackSky LLC

Released August 17, 2020