BlacSky image collected over Port Elizabeth in South Africa on Aug. 10, 2020. Photo: BlackSky via Business WIre

c Monday. SpaceX launched the two satellites with Starlink satellites on Aug. 7, and three images were over Port Elizabeth in South Africa on Aug. 10. 

Vice President of Space Operation Nick Merski said in an email to Via Satellite that BlackSky was able to hit this timeline by taking a holistic approach to product development, developing all of its systems to scale rapidly including satellites, ground, and analytics. 

“BlackSky has been focused on building a capability that addresses the reasons why that has historically taken so long, and we have invested in changing these timescales to create a more dynamic and intimate service with our customers,” he said. 

Merski said the pixel and insights market have greater demand than can be met: “The ability to add assets without a protracted timeline is another way of showing our customers that these space services can be depended upon and managed in a friction-less manner.” 

The satellites provide panchromatic and color imagery with submeter resolution. BlackSky has six satellites on orbit and plans to launch six additional satellites by the end of the First Quarter (Q1) of  2021.