Over the last few trading days, the shares of BlackSky Technology (BKSY 8.25%) were soaring toward the satellites the next-generation defense company uses to provide data to clients. The company's stock price rose 30% from market close June 13 to market close June 20, helped by news that it is expanding and strengthening its satellite network.
Sky-high hopes for the new project
On Tuesday morning, BlackSky took the wraps off its plans to expand its existing satellite constellation. It said it is doing so with a set of multispectral, large-area collection satellites that will beef up the capabilities of the company's network as a whole. The new satellites have collectively been named Aros.
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In its press release on the matter, the company wrote that it is currently working with development partners on the project, and hopes to launch the new hardware as soon as 2027. It added that it will give the company the ability to provide functionalities such as digital mapping and navigation at peerless scale and speed.
BlackSky also said of Aros that it "will address upcoming gaps in the market as legacy large area collection satellites age out of service over the next few years and are replaced with lower collection capacity satellites."
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The devil will be in the details
While BlackSky was eager to discuss the technological capabilities of Aros, it wasn't so willing to provide certain details of the project. It didn't identify any of its development partners, nor did it address its potential costs. Nevertheless, assuming the company can develop/implement it effectively, we can assume it'll make for quite the upgrade to the constellation currently in place.
