BlackSky Gen-3 Satellite Snaps Shockingly Clear Images Just 1 Day After Launch

Earth imaging company BlackSky has announced the successful deployment of its third Gen-3 imaging satellite, which returned high-resolution imagery of the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai within 24 hours of launch. This marks an expansion of BlackSky's 20-strong fleet of Earth-imaging satellites, with plans to add a further nine Gen-3 models in the coming year.

"BlackSky's third Gen-3 unit has delivered incredible initial image quality at unprecedented speed—less than one day from launch," BlackSky CEO Brian O'Toole said in a statement (via SpaceNews).

BlackSky launched this third-generation imaging satellite aboard a Rocket Lab Electron, but did so secretly. The mission, known as "Follow My Speed," was announced by Rocket Lab with a single anonymous payload. When that payload reached orbit and received a designation in tracking databases of "Global-33," though, people started to catch on. That's the standard naming convention for BlackSky satellites.

It ...