Here’s how the CIA supports satellite imaging companies Maxar, BlackSky, and Planet

Last week, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the US agency that manages the fleet of spy satellites, announced that it had awarded contracts worth billions of dollars to three satellite companies – Maxar, BlackSky and Planet.

The United States is pumping billions into satellite imaging companies BlackSky, Maxar, and Planet.

The National Reconnaissance Agency (NRO), the US agency that operates spy satellites that take incredibly detailed images of Earth, has awarded contracts to the three satellite companies worth billions of dollars.

In recent months, these companies have gained a lot of attention. Their satellite imagery played an integral role in press coverage of the war in Ukraine. According to the company, Maxar provides 90% of “essential geospatial intelligence that the United States government uses for national security.”

So images from space, as well as the ability to interpret and work with these images, are a valuable resource for NRO, highlighting Take Crunch.

The CIA has announce It will use the data it receives from companies to support “half a million users of federal defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies over the next decade.”

On the other hand, space operations are becoming increasingly commercial in nature. He notes that this intelligence agency’s contracts, the largest order ever placed by the NRO, represent an important moment in that direction. Axios.

All the details.

Contracts allotted to MAXAR, BLACKSKY and PLANET

Last week, Maxar revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that his 10-year contract with the NRO could be worth as much as $3.24 billion. According to BlackSky, his contract is worth just over $1 billion over 10 years.
However, Planet has not revealed the potential amount of his contract.

BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole told Axios that the moment “demonstrates the commitment and trust the US government has in commercial companies, like BlackSky.”

USA strategy

By integrating both commercial data and data collected by NRO satellites, officials expect to have a more comprehensive view of what is happening on Earth at any given time.

The agency has been moving toward this more integrated approach for years. Therefore, NRO has offered these companies guaranteed income for years to come, he comments Axios.

NRO announced the contracts as a “historic expansion” of its acquisition strategy. The increased availability of corporate brand imagery “increases our resilience and enables us to take an integrated approach” to national security.