BlackSky Signs New Block Buy for Five Rocket Lab Launches

 

August 08, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc has signed another block buy deal for five Electron launches with BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services.

Rocket Lab has launched six Electron missions for BlackSky since 2019, becoming the primary launch provider for BlackSky’s constellation. With these five new launches added to the manifest, BlackSky has contracted more Electron launches than any other single commercial customer. The launches are expected to begin in 2024 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.

“After four years of launching for BlackSky, we’re delighted to continue our partnership with more dedicated launches on Electron,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Building and maintaining a constellation requires precision deployment to unique orbits and a dependable launch schedule. We’re proud to deliver this dependable and tailored capability launch after launch, year after year.”

BlackSky’s next-generation Gen-3 satellites are designed to produce images with up to 35-centimeter resolution. Increased resolution and enhanced spectral diversity 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.

The new BlackSky launches join a busy Electron manifest in 2024 featuring missions for commercial constellation operators Capella Space, Kinéis, Hawkeye 360, and Synspective, as well as a variety of government missions.