HEO granted a seven-figure contract for data services to BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) in order to automate low-latency capabilities for non-Earth imaging (NEI) services for defence, intelligence, and commercial usage. The firms will collaborate to integrate BlackSky’s present constellation into HEO’s NEI sensor network as per the agreement. After a successful first proof of concept phase, the contract is now entering its second phase, with an emphasis on automating the full tasking-to-delivery process.
BlackSky will give HEO access to exclusive high-resolution imagery taken from a mid-inclination orbit. It is anticipated that the high-cadence imaging capabilities of BlackSky will make it more feasible to obtain NEI data over Earth’s middle latitudes. By turning on NEI capabilities, BlackSky can take advantage of capacity that is normally idle for satellites traveling over the ocean or satellites in eclipse, traveling across the dark side of Earth.
Dr. Will Crowe, co-founder and CEO of HEO, stated, “HEO is driving innovation in space by delivering non-Earth imaging solutions at scale, giving our customers in-orbit insights when timing is crucial.” Through this agreement, BlackSky’s high-resolution constellation will be added to HEO’s sensor network, opening up even more NEI data applications across industries.
HEO’s automated tasking and delivery platform, HEO Inspect, will allow customers to request NEI items. HEO’s software automatically searches for imaging possibilities and uses an API to establish jobs on BlackSky’s mission scheduling system upon request. The present constellation’s BlackSky NEI imagery and metadata will be gathered and then imported into HEO Inspect, where object detection and identification algorithms will produce advanced analytics reports with details like a satellite’s location and attitude.
