BlackSky Extends HEO Space Domain Awareness Agreement with New Seven-Figure Non-Earth Imaging Contract Featuring Gen-3
A BlackSky non-Earth image of the Landsat-5 satellite collected through the HEO Inspect platform.
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.
“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.