BlackSky has signed a one-year contract worth a seven-figure sum with an undisclosed international defense ministry, giving it priority access to satellite imagery and AI-assisted analysis.
The agreement covers the Virginia-based company’s Gen-3 satellites, which produce imagery at a resolution of 35 centimeters (14 inches).
Under the initiative, the country will receive dedicated collection capacity over selected areas, with imaging requests that cannot be displaced by other users.
The customer selected BlackSky’s Assured subscription, which provides priority satellite tasking that other users cannot override and allows repeated collection requests throughout the day to monitor developing activity.
BlackSky’s service allows customers to request repeated observations throughout the day to track changes at locations of interest.
The company said the ministry moved from initial discussions and a trial to the subscription in less than nine months.
Training was completed, and the service became operational within 12 hours of the contract’s signing, according to the company.
Satellite Tasking and Analysis
Imagery and analysis will be delivered through BlackSky’s web-based Spectra platform, which allows users to select locations, request satellite collections, and compare successive images to track activity over time.
Users can choose from daytime, nighttime, stereo, and burst collection modes, depending on their monitoring needs.
Repeated observations can help reveal changes at a site, including the arrival or departure of aircraft, vessels, and vehicles.
Built-in AI tools detect and classify these objects, helping analysts locate activity for closer examination.