Critical space-based intelligence—faster
For space-based intelligence provider BlackSky, a satellite launch is just the beginning. From manufacturing to processing, BlackSky delivers insight—fast.
From manufacturing to satellite launch, data capture to customer delivery, BlackSky brings critical insights to its customers at an unprecedented speed for dynamic missions.
Space, and Earth observation in particular, has become a critical domain for protecting nations, scaling economies and understanding our planet. But traditionally, building and launching imaging satellites has been expensive and slow, followed by a long period of satellite calibration and commissioning. By the time the satellite was ready to send back useful images, months could pass—sometimes even longer. This delay was problematic, especially for time-sensitive applications such as military intelligence, disaster response, or tracking the movement of goods and resources across the globe.
Space-based intelligence provider BlackSky is challenging that tradition. Through the Economy 4.0 series, go inside BlackSky’s manufacturing and mission operations centers as the company prepares to launch a Gen-3 satellite and quickly capture its first images of Earth.
Built for speed and agility
For BlackSky, what happens after a rocket launch is just as important as the launch itself. Once a satellite is deployed, its customers need the data satellite images and AI-driven object classifications it collects as fast as possible for critical information about military activity, supply chains, natural disasters and more.
“The rocket goes up successfully and everyone cheers,” said Tyman Stephens, Senior Vice President, Space Architecture at BlackSky. “But when the first image comes in and it’s providing the information we expected, with the clarity we expected, that’s … an amazing feeling.”
The company’s rapid process for satellite operations ensures the critical insights gathered from space are provided to customers almost in real-time. Once a satellite is deployed, it’s fully operational and ready to deliver actionable data in hours, not weeks or months.
A significant part of BlackSky’s model involves the rapid analysis of the data its satellites gather. Using AI-driven systems to process satellite images and classify objects, BlackSky gives its clients the ability to make crucial decisions in a fraction of the time it used to take. Whether it’s identifying troop movements, tracking disaster impacts, or assessing essential infrastructure, BlackSky’s technology ensures that their clients aren’t left waiting for critical insights when every second can make a difference.
“We center on how to get our customers the best possible image, with the best resolution, as quickly as possible so they can act on it,” said Katie Todd, Director of Program Management at BlackSky.
Turning Earth observations into actionable insights
From design to manufacturing, operations to software, everything BlackSky does is in the pursuit of moving fast, with the speed needed to provide a strategic and tactical advantage for global security. Hear from the team that’s accelerating the pace of space-based intelligence and re-defining what it means to watch Earth from space.
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