Stories about the Earth Observation industry’s eyes on our planet.
Last week, BlackSky reported Q2 financial results. The satellite operator beat expectations on top- and bottom-line earnings, riding on the back of key contract wins and a big new integration. “We have strong momentum across all aspects of our business,” BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole told Payload in an interview. Q2 results at a glance Revenue […]
Maxar booked $438M in revenue this quarter, down 7.3% YoY. Earth Intelligence revenue increased slightly YoY, while Space Infrastructure fell ~10% YoY. The EO mainstay noted that sales within its Space Infrastructure segment dipped (or dove) by $36M, enough to put Maxar in the red. The company’s quarterly operating loss was $30M (vs. $45M YoY). […]
San Francisco-based Capella Space has announced Acadia, its next generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Capella’s SAR satellites can see through clouds and provide all-weather, 24/7 imaging. The startup primarily serves defense and intelligence customers. Backstory: Capella launched Denali, a backpack-sized SAR satellite, in late 2018. Next came the 100-kg. Sequoia in Aug. 2020. […]
The United Arab Emirates is getting serious about space. On Sunday, the Emirati space agency announced the creation of an AED 3 billion (~$817M) national fund to further nurture and develop the UAE’s budding space industry. The UAE also announced the first project with backing from its new fund: a constellation of SAR (synthetic aperture […]
We’ve made it halfway through 2022. The year has flown by, but it’s been filled with big news and firsts for the space industry. Here’s our recap of the off-Earth goings-on during these last six months. Q1 The year started off with a bang as JWST unfolded successfully, reached its new home a million miles […]
The European Space Agency has inked a €160M ($168M) contract with Airbus UK for the agency’s ninth Earth Explorer mission. The FORUM satellite is slated to launch in 2027 and will measure radiation emitting from the Earth into Space. The science: FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) will be the first satellite to observe […]
Image: Planet On Tuesday, Planet released its Q1 2023 earnings for the period ending April 30th 2022. Planet’s stock traded down 10% after hours despite record Q1 revenue, likely due to a spike in net loss and a downward adjustment on full-year revenue guidance. The numbers: Planet booked $40M in revenue in the first quarter […]
Last week, NYC-based Cloud to Street announced a partnership with Raincoat, a parametric insurance provider, and Munich Re Group, a major international reinsurer. The three are launching a flood insurance product in Colombia. The national program will make flood insurance policies available to 100,000+ Colombian farmers for the first time. In effect, that means that […]
Tomorrow marks 100 days since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Over the course of the last few months, satellite imagery has served as the world’s window into the destruction and tolls of war, providing vital intelligence that the Ukrainian and allied governments and humanitarian groups have used to defend the country and ease human […]
NRO’s NROL-85 launches. Image: SpaceX/NRO. As if Wednesday wasn’t already filled to the brim with space news, the National Reconaissance Office also had to flex on us and announce its “largest-ever commercial imagery contract.” EOCL, imagery, billions of dollars…let’s break it down: The agency awarded Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) contracts to BlackSky ($BSKY), Maxar ($MAXR), […]
On Tuesday, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue—better known as the Quad—met in Tokyo to discuss how to best deter China. Among other things, Pres. Biden and the leaders of Japan, India, and Australia agreed to launch a satellite tracking initiative to fight back against illegal fishing and trading in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad: The security […]
Spire ($SPIR) announced this morning that it will launch five satellites with SpaceX on the forthcoming Transporter-5 rideshare mission from Florida. What’s notable is the degree to which the company is playing up its space services business. The business unit will have satellites and payloads onboard Transporter-5 for Hancom inSpace, a Korea Aerospace Research Institute […]
