Under this agreement, BlackSky Technology leverages its relationship to provide fully automated non-Earth imaging (NEI) services for defence, intelligence and commercial customers.
The agreement, now entering its fourth phase, builds on earlier work that automated the entire process from tasking through to delivery. It will see HEO’s software platform autonomously identify imaging opportunities and direct BlackSky’s Gen-2 high-resolution satellites to capture imagery of objects in orbit.
The data will support applications such as constellation monitoring, anomaly detection, threat assessment and prediction of potential impacts on space assets.
BlackSky chief executive Brian O’Toole said the partnership demonstrated the growing importance of space intelligence, saying, “As on-orbit activities increase, global monitoring is expanding beyond terrestrial intelligence to include space. Automatically tasking and receiving NEI products gives customers reliable, actionable insight about spacecraft or objects of interest at mission speed.”
“BlackSky’s high-resolution Gen-2, high-cadence monitoring constellation continues to contribute valuable insight for space domain awareness,” O’Toole said.
BlackSky’s satellites, operating in mid-inclination orbit, can capture NEI data over the middle latitudes at specific times and locations. The company also leverages excess capacity during passes over oceans or when satellites are in eclipse, turning otherwise unused time into an opportunity for intelligence gathering.
“Customers can now use that excess capacity, with a high-quality user experience, to monitor objects in space with no humans in the loop,” O’Toole said.
HEO co-founder and chief executive Dr Will Crowe said the deal highlighted the need for persistent, responsive monitoring across orbits, saying, “Achieving true space awareness will require inspection platforms ready to capture imagery at a moment’s notice, and HEO is building exactly that.”
Dr Crowe added, “BlackSky’s high-resolution satellites and automated capacity give us eyes in mid-inclination orbit, turning downtime into an intelligence gold mine for operators who need to know what’s happening around their assets, when it happens.”
HEO incorporated BlackSky’s constellation into its NEI sensor network in 2024. Customers can request imagery through HEO’s automated tasking platform, HEO Inspect.
Once collected, the NEI data and metadata are processed through algorithms to generate advanced reports – covering satellite attitude, location, subsystem identification, and even pattern-of-life analyses.
The deal marks another step forward in the integration of automated space domain awareness systems, positioning both companies at the forefront of a rapidly growing global market.