HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BlackSky Technology Inc. has been given US Air Force Research Laboratory AFWERX Direct to Phase II contract. Under this contract BlackSky will build a target recognition service that will gather and combine radio frequency and electro-optical satellite sensor data. The service aims to track mobile assets in real-time and securely distribute actionable intelligence to remote devices and analytics worldwide.
“BlackSky has introduced a first-of-its-kind commercial, vertically integrated space and ground architecture. Moreover, this innovative approach utilizes contemporary advances in AI and edge processing. Its primary goal is to enhance the DOD’s real-time imagery and analytics delivery requirements,” said Patrick O’Neil, BlackSky chief technology officer. “The company’s rapid-revisit capabilities and leading innovations in automated detection give customers an opportunity to conduct ISR operations from space.”
BlackSky has a proven ability to track moving targets on-orbit using its proprietary electro-optical high-resolution satellite constellation. Unlike traditional moving target indicators that rely exclusively on radar sensors, the BlackSky Spectra platform uses multi-frame Burst imagery and computer vision. Additionally, it fuses open-source intelligence feeds with multi-sensor imagery to provide information and intelligence. This is aimed at critical targets of interest.
“BlackSky will take advantage of our existing commercial ground and space architectures. Furthermore, these architectures enable assured secure tasking, collection, and low-latency data delivery. This will make mobile asset monitoring possible at scale,” said O’Neil.
