BlackSky wins seven-figure, multiyear international contract

SAN FRANCISCO — BlackSky announced Aug. 11 a seven-figure, multiyear contract to provide an international customer with persistent space-based monitoring and assured and on-demand satellite tasking.

Prior to the award, BlackSky conducted a pilot with the unnamed international customer. That customer then signed up for low-latency access to imagery from the company’s Gen-2 and Gen-3 constellations paired with artificial intelligence-enabled analytics. The customer also will have access to assured and on-demand global observations.

BlackSky’s Gen-2 constellation, launched in 2021, is designed for dawn-to-dusk monitoring. Gen-3 satellites, which the Herndon, Virginia-based company started launching in 2025, provide higher-resolution imaging “that enables automated identification and classification of a wider library of vehicles, aircraft, vessels and other objects of military interest,” according to the news release.

“BlackSky continues to drive recurring, high-margin revenue through key international subscription deals with our foundational Gen-2 dynamic monitoring constellation and ever-expanding best-in-class 35-centimeter class Gen-3 constellation,” BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said in a statement. “This contract marks a significant increase in value from the original pilot program and exemplifies the continued momentum that BlackSky experiences as more international customers quickly scale up commitments in support of their long-term mission critical needs.”

Under the latest contract, the international customer will view Gen-3 and Gen-2 imagery through Spectra, BlackSky’s tasking and analytics platform for sustained monitoring of locations.

Sovereign demand

O’Toole cited rising international revenue and “exceptional performance of Gen-3,” during an Aug. 6 report on the BlackSky’s second quarter 2026 results.

“Multiyear international contracts for space-based intelligence subscription services now comprise over 80% of our total funded backlog,” O’Toole said in the earnings call. “We expect this momentum to continue as new customers adopt Gen-3 services and current customers expand existing contracts to take advantage of growing Gen-3 capacity, improving latency and revisit performance.”

Revenues from BlackSky’s international customers grew 200% in the second quarter, compared with the second quarter of 2025.

“For major governments and enterprises around the world, sovereign space capabilities are no longer an option, but a necessity,” O’Toole said.

BlackSky is continuing to expand the Gen-3 constellation with plans to have eight satellites in orbit by the end of the year. To provide hourly revisits, BlackSky will expand the Gen-3 constellation to include 12 to 15 satellites.

Blacksky is building additional Gen-3 satellites for Mission Solutions, the business segment focused on customers seeking sovereign intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The satellites will provide “inventory that we can leverage and improve our competitive posture for some of the Mission Solutions programs that we’re pursuing,” O’Toole said. “We believe that by having that inventory on hand and a scalable production environment, we can start delivering to customers within a year or so of getting those orders.”

Reporting from SpaceNews contributed to this story.