US Spy Agency Awards Billions to Commercial Satellite Companies

In a statement, the NRO said it was the “largest-ever commercial imagery contract effort” and that it represented “a historic expansion of the NRO’s acquisition of commercial imagery to meet increasing customer demands with greater capacity than ever before.”

Planet, BlackSky, and Maxar all received “honors” for operating fleets of satellites orbiting Earth that take photos of the ground below.

The contracts come as the Pentagon and intelligence services rely more on commercial satellite imagery to aid in spying, fighting, and alleged humanitarian endeavors. Commercial satellites have filmed military movements, wreckage, and even plumes of smoke that reveal the locations of missile attacks — all in high-definition — throughout the Ukrainian war.