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BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) signed a seven-figure annual extension with HEO to enable fully automated, low-latency non-Earth imaging (NEI). The renewal agreement marks a significant technological evolution in the partnership, incorporating access to BlackSky’s next-generation, very high-resolution Gen-3 imagery to provide unmatched clarity, quality, frequency and speed for global space domain awareness (SDA) missions across defense, intelligence and commercial sectors. The partnership grew quickly from an initial short-term, six-figure pilot to a growing seven-figure annual contract now entering its third year.This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261015435726/en/
A BlackSky non-Earth image of the Landsat-5 satellite collected through the HEO Inspect platform.
“Our expanded partnership with HEO reflects the rapid evolution of non-Earth imagery from a specialized proof-of-concept into a critical component of mainstream space domain awareness,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “With access to our combined Gen-2 and Gen-3 constellation, customers gain industry-leading image clarity and more collection opportunities essential for observing and characterizing intricate objects in orbit. Our software-defined, AI-enabled end-to-end architecture provides the flexibility to seamlessly leverage unused constellation capacity and deliver high-value, real-time intelligence for vital SDA missions without disrupting our primary terrestrial imaging operations.”
“We are entering an era where we must inspect, understand and maintain the infrastructure we put in orbit. That requires more frequent access to high-resolution imagery, without building a dedicated spacecraft for every mission,” said Will Crowe, HEO CEO & Co-Founder. “By combining BlackSky’s constellation with HEO’s software, we can unlock more value from existing space infrastructure and give customers a clearer picture of the objects they depend on.”
The expansion introduces next-generation capabilities, combining BlackSky’s high-cadence Gen-2 monitoring constellation with the increased imaging precision of its Gen-3 satellites. By leveraging BlackSky’s advanced architecture, HEO’s target and imaging algorithms will identify expanded SDA tracking opportunities with access to BlackSky’s full constellation to observe, characterize, and track spacecraft and other objects in orbit. Higher resolution Gen-3 imagery will also enable deeper analysis and richer insights into objects in orbit, delivering more frequent and precise intelligence at mission speed.
The relationship between BlackSky and HEO began in 2024 with the integration of BlackSky's proprietary mid-inclination orbit constellation into the HEO Inspect platform. The partnership progressed through rigorous phases of development, expanding HEO customers’ access to BlackSky’s NEI. Today, this fully automated tasking-to-delivery pipeline through HEO Inspect allows international defense and commercial operators to generate rapid analytics reports, identify satellite subsystems, perform anomaly detection, and map pattern-of-life behaviors enabled by object detection and identification algorithms and data fusion.
About BlackSky
BlackSky is a real-time, space-based intelligence company that delivers on-demand, high frequency imagery, analytics, and high-frequency monitoring of the most critical and strategic locations, economic assets and events in the world. BlackSky owns and operates one of the industry’s most advanced, purpose-built commercial, real-time intelligence systems that combines the power of the BlackSky Spectra® tasking and analytics software platform and our proprietary low Earth orbit satellite constellation.
With BlackSky, customers can see, understand and anticipate changes for a decisive strategic advantage at the tactical edge, and act not just fast, but first. BlackSky is trusted by some of the most demanding U.S. and international government agencies, commercial businesses, and organizations around the world. BlackSky is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as BKSY. To learn more, visit www.blacksky.com and follow us on X.
About HEO
HEO is building the intelligence layer for space. We image objects in orbit on demand, turning existing satellites into inspection platforms and building our own sensors where coverage gaps remain. Our software automates tasking, capture and analysis, turning imagery into insight about the condition, configuration and behaviour of objects in orbit. HEO operates internationally, with offices in Australia, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our goal is to make any image in the Solar System available on demand.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to BlackSky. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document. If any of these risks materialize or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change.
Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in BlackSky’s disclosure materials filed from time to time with the SEC which are available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or on BlackSky’s Investor Relations website at https://ir.blacksky.com.
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