Naomi Cooper
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 platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to automatically process and analyze imaging data.
The launch mission, dubbed “Love at First Insight,” lifted off the satellites onboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from aerospace company’s Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. Electron positioned the satellites into orbit approximately 54 to 56 minutes after launch.
“The key value to customers is how quickly we incorporate data from these sensors into our AI architecture. It’s about the prompt delivery of top quality, automated services for insights that our customers can trust,” said Nick Merski, chief operations officer of BlackSky.
The launch comes after NASA awarded BlackSky a five-year blanket purchase agreement to provide high revisit satellite imaging data in support of the space agency’s Earth observation research initiatives.
