Jon Kirchner, a 30-year industry executive, has been named chief product officer at geospatial intelligence company BlackSky Technology. He will be part of BlackSky’s executive leadership team and oversee the delivery of intelligence and dynamic monitoring products and services to customers, the company said Wednesday. “Jon’s leadership will play a critical role as we advance […] More

BlackSky Technology has secured a $4.4 million phase two award to provide the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity with a machine learning platform created for a multiyear initiative for space-based imagery analysis. The company said Thursday its machine learning operations framework will be used to further support IARPA’s Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique Program, which […] More

The National Reconnaissance Office has selected three space technology companies for a 10-year, multibillion-dollar contracting program to acquire commercial imagery and remote sensing data products for the defense and intelligence communities. BlackSky, Maxar and Planet have received the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer awards from the NRO in order to initiate enhanced transparency, situational awareness and humanitarian aid, […] More

BlackSky plans to add two new Spectra AI-powered satellites to its constellation in a future launch that will bring the company’s total number of satellites on orbit to ten. The company said Tuesday it will add the satellites through a scheduled rideshare launch with SpaceX, managed by Spaceflight Inc., to increase BlackSky’s geospatial capacity for data, […] More

BlackSky has expanded its constellation of real-time geospatial monitoring satellites with the launch of two spacecraft into orbit to meet global customers’ requirements for Earth imaging and global intelligence services. The company said Thursday the satellites are operational and, within 14 hours of launch, have collected and transferred their first imagery into the Spectra AI […] More

Susan Gordon, former principal deputy director of national intelligence and two-time Wash100 Award winner, has been appointed to BlackSky’s board of directors. Gordon’s intelligence career spans over four decades and includes serving in the nation’s highest-ranking intelligence officer position as key adviser to the President and the National Security Council. “Sue is a visionary leader, and we […] More

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has awarded BlackSky Holdings a five-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $30 million to monitor global economic activity and provide analysts and decision makers with relevant insights. The geospatial intelligence company said Monday it will leverage its Spectra artificial intelligence tool that uses advanced AI and multisensor analytics in detecting […] More

The National Reconnaissance Office has awarded a contract modification to BlackSky Holdings for access to real-time satellite imagery that provides defense and intelligence communities with information on pattern-of-life anomalies. The satellites of BlackSky, capable of providing intraday revisit capabilities, will generate on-demand images intended to support homeland defense, national security and disaster and emergency response […] More

BlackSky Holdings and Palantir Technologies have completed a joint project aimed at integrating high-resolution imagery with deep analytics to provide real-time geointelligence and demonstrate the impact of global monitoring from space.  The pilot program combined BlackSky’s commercial satellite imagery and analytics and Palantir Foundry to demonstrate the capability to deploy worldwide intelligence that can potentially […] More

BlackSky Holdings aims to expand its business footprint in the Southwest region by opening a new office at a facility built by a space-focused organization in New Mexico. The geospatial intelligence technology provider said Thursday it collaborated with NewSpace New Mexico, a nonprofit committed to supporting the development of the state as a space innovation […] More

Rocket Lab plans to launch a mission to retrieve its Electron launch vehicle before it executes a splashdown landing in a move to demonstrate rocket reusability. Rocket Lab said Thursday the upcoming “Running Out of Toes” mission will serve as the 20th launch for Electron and is scheduled to take place in May from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

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Rocket Lab has agreed to help BlackSky launch geospatial intelligence satellites to space across multiple missions in 2021. The launch vehicle provider said Thursday its Electron launch vehicle will send eight of BlackSky's 286-pound satellites to low Earth orbit across four flight missions.

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