BlackSky Technology and Rocket Lab USA, have signed an agreement to buy a block of five launches that will increase capacity and introduce new capabilities into BlackSky’s rapid-revisit, high-res constellation.
“We continue to see strong, growing demand for our high-frequency, low latency offering from our current and next generation constellation especially for defense and intelligence customers who need real-time, on-demand intelligence in support of critical missions,” said Brian E. O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “With these launches BlackSky will replenish, replace, and expand on-orbit capacity, introduce Gen-3 capabilities, and further enable BlackSky to meet the demands of the most time-dominant missions. This commitment follows a series of accomplishments with Rocket Lab that have demonstrated agility in deploying capacity where and when our customers need it most.”
“After four years of launching for BlackSky, we’re delighted to continue our partnership with more dedicated launches on Electron,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Building and maintaining a constellation requires precision deployment to unique orbits and a dependable launch schedule. We’re proud to deliver this dependable and tailored capability launch after launch, year after year.”
BlackSky’s next-generation Gen-3 satellites are designed to produce images with up to 35-centimeter resolution. When coupled with BlackSky Spectra, our proprietary AI-driven tasking and analytics platform, the combination gives customers the ability to detect critical change with increased speed, on-demand.
Increased resolution and enhanced spectral diversity extend BlackSky’s ability to provide real-time insights to its customers in a broad set of conditions, including nighttime, low light and challenging weather. BlackSky’s unique ability to capture and quickly deliver large volumes of dawn-to-dusk, time-diverse imagery increases transparency into strategic defense and economic activities that could otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
Rocket Lab has launched six successful Electron missions for BlackSky since 2019. The launches are expected to take place beginning in 2024 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.