Image from BlackSky Spectra, displaying visible, SAR, and IR data over Panama City and the Miraflores Locks. (Images from Airbus Pléiades, Airbus TerraSAR-X, and USGS Landsat; some of the bans are IR, some are visible), respectively.

BlackSky, a provider of geospatial intelligence, satellite imaging, and global monitoring services, secured a $50 million senior secured loan from Intelsat. The transaction results in an industry first, creating a strategic relationship that pairs Earth Observation (EO) with a global communications infrastructure.

The new capital aims to allow BlackSky to augment existing assets and alliances, to help deliver Earth intelligence faster. Over time, BlackSky could incorporate access to Intelsat’s global communications infrastructure.

“BlackSky is enabling a whole new level of global intelligence by leveraging the economics of small satellites so that our customers will always be the first to know,” said Brian E. O’Toole, President and CEO of BlackSky. “It takes a lot of expertise, engineering and capital to make smallsats viable; BlackSky is the first company to overcome these challenges with proven economies of scale. This latest partnership is a vote of confidence in our ability to deliver industry leading insights to our customers from one of the biggest players in the market.”