BlackSky LEO satellite constellation for Earth Observation

BlackSky LEO satellite constellation for Earth Observation

BlackSky is a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and monitors activities and facilities worldwide by harnessing the world’s emerging sensor networks, using its own satellite constellation. The company, based in Seattle, USA, processes millions of observations from space, air, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Industrial IoT, and Internet-enabled narrative sources.

The company is aiming for a 60-satellite constellation, which would offer 1m resolution and rapid satellite revisit rates. The satellite constellation is currently being built by SmallSat manufacturer LeoStella, LLC, a joint venture between Spaceflight Industries and Thales Alenia Space.

BlackSky LEO satellite constellation for Earth Observation is an on-demand constellation of satellites can image a location multiple times throughout the day. The company monitors for pattern-of-life anomalies to produce alerts and enhance situational awareness. BlackSky’s global monitoring is available via a simple subscription and requires no IT infrastructure or setup.

BlackSky is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries, Inc. and is based in Seattle, WA, USA. The company was founded in 2013 and plans to launch a constellation of 60 Earth observation satellites to enable revisit times of a few hours or less. The company raised capital to fully fund its first six spacecraft, which two of them, Pathfinder-1 and Pathfinder-2, were scheduled for launch in 2016. Pathfinder-1 was launched on a multi-satellite launch on ISRO’s PSLV rocket on 26 September 2016.