BlackSky Blog

It’s clear. We are in the middle of a geospatial revolution. From the earliest explorers until about 10 years ago, we relied on paper maps to navigate the world. They were detailed, but static…and impossible to fold. Then, Google Earth came on the scene in 2005, and suddenly we could scroll into every corner of … Continued

Our Pathfinder-1 satellite continues to dazzle us – we’re getting gorgeous daily images, and couldn’t wait to share. Here are just a couple more and some thoughts on the insights they can provide.  Coastline in Australia: The coast north of Adelaide Australia is experiencing extensive erosion of its fragile, low-lying saltmarsh, called the Samphire Coast. The … Continued

Why is it that “your first” seems more beautiful than you ever could’ve imagined? Your first car, your first apartment, your first child? It has to be the anticipation of the moment, the hard work you put in, and the big milestone you’ve achieved. It makes it that much better, that much more beautiful to … Continued

It’s been over three weeks since we launched Pathfinder-1, and by all accounts the mission has been a great success. The satellite and ground station operations have been rock solid, meeting our every expectation (more here on that.) In addition, we have moved into imaging mode and are calibrating the various spacecraft sensors. A core … Continued

It’s hard to believe it’s been two weeks since we launched our first satellite, BlackSky’s Pathfinder-1. We’ve been working 24/7 through early operations with our demonstration spacecraft and wanted to share a brief recap of our first weeks of spacecraft operations. In a nutshell, Pathfinder-1 is exceeding our expectations. As engineers, that’s a significant statement … Continued

We are pleased to report a successful launch of Pathfinder-1 and the subsequent first communication! Watch the video below to see our ops team receive the first signal, and then the first data.     Jason Andrews, CEO of Spaceflight Industries, reflects on this achievement: This is one more milestone in a string of milestones … Continued

We’re launching in a few minutes…if you want to follow along, here’s the live stream.

There are many steps involved in getting a spacecraft ready for launch. But when we launch from India from the PSLV, there is one extra step: the coconut ceremony. Breaking a coconut has much significance in the Hindu religion. It usually marks an auspicious occasion like weddings or festival, or the start of a new … Continued

Pathfinder-1 Mission Blog #3 Question: What do you call a high resolution telescopic camera that is sitting on top of 241 Metric Tons (532,000 lbs) of explosives? Answer: Pathfinder-1! Pathfinder-1 is now fueled, integrated to the separation system, and sitting 120 feet above the ground on top of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). … Continued