BlackSky renews HEO deal for a year and adds Gen-3 imagery

BlackSky Technology has signed a seven-figure deal to extend its partnership with Australian non-Earth imaging provider HEO for another year. Under the renewal, HEO can use BlackSky's Gen-3 imagery to provide space domain awareness data that is updated more often.

HEO borrows time on cameras already in orbit to photograph other spacecraft up close. BlackSky does not give up any Earth-imaging time, because HEO tasks the satellites when they would otherwise sit idle, such as over open ocean or on Earth's night side.

The partnership is entering its third year. It began as what the companies describe as a short-term, six-figure pilot and is now a seven-figure annual contract. The two companies have fully automated the process from tasking to delivery. HEO Inspect customers, including international defence and commercial operators, can generate rapid analytics reports, identify satellite subsystems, flag anomalies and map an object's pattern of life.

BlackSky CEO Brian O'Toole said in a statement that non-Earth imaging has evolved from a specialised proof-of-concept into a component of mainstream space domain awareness. The renewal comes weeks after HEO closed a $25M Series B to extend its imaging network into GEO. HEO already operates more than 50 sensors in orbit, using partner cameras and its own hosted payloads.

Sourcepayloadspace.com