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February 25th, 2025
BlackSky wins multimillion-dollar Defense Innovation Unit Gen-3 Tactical GEOINT expansion contract

Award extends R & D efforts through on-orbit operations as company prepares customer funded Gen-3 satellite for launch

HERNDON, Va. (February 25, 2025) — BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won a multimillion-dollar Defense Innovation Unit Gen-3 Tactical GEOINT (TACGEO) launch integration contract that expands on early U.S. government-funded R & D efforts to build out advanced space-based tactical ISR capabilities.  Under the contract BlackSky will prepare and manage a Gen-3 satellite launch, on behalf of the customer.

“BlackSky is on a mission to push the transformative advantage of space-based, real-time intelligence to the farthest corners of the battlefield,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “When combined with our BlackSky Spectra® platform, our Gen-3 constellation will deliver a next level of performance with low-latency AI-enabled analytics while a mission is ongoing.”

As part of the contract BlackSky will support end-to-end, pre-flight to on-orbit activities including hardware and systems integration, launch site and mission management, and commissioning services.

The TACGEO program was designed to support the Department of Defense’s needs for responsive, space-based tactical ISR. The program has validated Gen-3’s technological readiness and tactical utility for distributing timely insights to warfighters in various training and exercise settings.

The evolution of BlackSky’s constellation continues to optimize for additional capacity and flexibility. The introduction of low-latency intersatellite communications will give customers more flexibility for high-priority, last-minute tasking missions while highly agile onboard attitude control systems will enable maximum operational efficiency.

BlackSky’s constellation delivers timely insights that are not achievable using traditional mapping approaches. In addition to the automatic detection, identification and classification of a wider library of vehicles, aircraft, vessels and other objects of tactical interest, the Gen-3 constellation will introduce a new capability for BlackSky customers: the ability to image through smoke and haze with Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) bands.

The improved resolution and enhanced spectral diversity of the Gen-3 satellites will extend BlackSky’s ability to provide real-time insights to its customers in a broad set of conditions, including nighttime, low light, and challenging weather.

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About BlackSky

BlackSky is a real-time, space-based intelligence company that delivers on-demand, high frequency imagery, analytics, and high-frequency monitoring of the most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events in the world. BlackSky owns and operates one of the industry’s most advanced, purpose-built commercial, real-time intelligence systems that combines the power of the BlackSky Spectra® tasking and analytics software platform and our proprietary low earth orbit satellite constellation.

With BlackSky, customers can see, understand and anticipate changes for a decisive strategic advantage at the tactical edge, and act not just fast, but first. BlackSky is trusted by some of the most demanding U.S. and international government agencies, commercial businesses, and organizations around the world. BlackSky is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as BKSY. To learn more, visit www.blacksky.com and follow us on X.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to BlackSky. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document. If any of these risks materialize or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change.  Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in BlackSky’s disclosure materials filed from time to time with the SEC which are available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or on BlackSky’s Investor Relations website at https://ir.blacksky.com.