One of BlackSky’s first images from the Gen-3 satellites, captured over the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia. Photo: BlackSky

BlackSky Technology shared the first images from the company’s first Gen-3 satellite which launched on Feb. 18. 

BlackSky shared two very high-resolution images on Tuesday, one collected over the Sydney International Airport and the other over the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia. The company said these images were collected just five days after the launch. 

CEO Brian O’Toole said the image quality is “exceeding customer expectations” with minimal calibration. BlackSky expects the image quality to get better as the company moves through the calibration process and the satellite reaches its operational altitude. BlackSky expects to begin providing sample imagery to customers within the next 30 days, ahead of schedule. 

The Gen-3 satellites are designed to deliver 35-centimeter imagery with sub-hourly image collection speeds. 

Rocket Lab launched the satellite from New Zealand. BlackSky said the second Gen-3 satellite will launch in the second quarter with a regular cadence of launches throughout the year. 

“Adding very high-resolution imagery to our high-frequency, low-latency monitoring constellation gives customers the ability to unlock the transformative power of dawn-to-dusk time-diversity and exceptional image quality at disruptive economics,” said O’Toole.