Thu Sep 19 06:16:05 UTC 2024: ## BlackSky and HEO Partner to Revolutionize Space Situational Awareness
**Herndon, VA – September 18, 2024** – BlackSky Technology Inc., a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence, announced today a seven-figure deal with HEO to bring automated low-latency capabilities to non-Earth imaging (NEI) services. The partnership will integrate BlackSky’s constellation of satellites into HEO’s NEI sensor network, allowing for unprecedented speed and automation in gathering insights about orbiting spacecraft and other objects of interest.
This collaboration aims to enhance space situational awareness for defense, intelligence, and commercial applications by leveraging unused satellite capacity. BlackSky’s high-resolution imagery, captured by its mid-inclination orbit satellites, will be crucial for capturing NEI data over the middle latitudes of Earth.
“This partnership is a game-changer in the field of space situational awareness,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “By automating the entire tasking-to-delivery process, we are providing customers with reliable and actionable intelligence at mission speed.”
HEO, which specializes in delivering on-demand non-Earth imagery, will utilize its automated platform, HEO Inspect, to facilitate data requests and processing. Upon request, HEO Inspect will automatically find imaging opportunities and set tasks on BlackSky’s mission scheduling system. Collected imagery and metadata will be processed by HEO Inspect, generating advanced analytics reports that include information like satellite attitude, location, and pattern-of-life analysis.
“HEO is dedicated to driving innovation in space by providing customers with critical in-orbit insights when timing is critical,” stated Dr. Will Crowe, Co-Founder and CEO of HEO. “This partnership with BlackSky further unlocks the potential of NEI data across various industries.”
This strategic collaboration highlights the increasing importance of space situational awareness as the space domain becomes more contested. The automated and efficient data acquisition process made possible by this partnership will provide critical insights to customers across government, defense, and commercial sectors.
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