BlackSky to Help Air Force Conduct GEOINT-Based Analysis of COVID-19 Impact

Spaceflight Industries’ BlackSky subsidiary has received a contract to support the U.S. Air Force's efforts to monitor COVID-19 activity at military bases through the company’s proprietary geospatial intelligence technologies.

BlackSky will utilize its machine learning and artificial intelligence-based platform called Spectra to help the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX innovation unit surveil U.S. military facilities worldwide in real-time, the company said Tuesday.

Spectra will gather imaging data to complement reports of infected populations and epidemiology models to help the Air Force forecast risks to personnel and communities within the vicinity of its facilities.

Work under the contract is meant to help the Air Force analyze the impact of COVID-19 prevention strategies and ensure the security and protection of personnel as well as the supply chain, according to BlackSky.

Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky, said Spectra’s remote sensing and geospatial data collection features are designed to visualize updates on the pandemic and provide “critical insights to inform national security.”

Locations covered by the agreement include maintenance facilities, logistics depots, airports and petroleum reserves.