BlackBridge
Delivering the World

BlackBridge is a leading provider of a growing range of products and services for the geospatial industry. With the support of an extensive network or over 100 global partners, BlackBridge has built a solutiondriven company that combines the use of earth observation satellites, cloud services, and data security facilities. The Canadian company is comprised of three main business units: Networks, Geomatics, and RapidEye.

BlackBridge Networks is a technology services provider, offering co-location, continuity, cloud, and network services. As BlackBridge customers amass larger volumes of imagery and geospatial data, they will require support to manage these resources within cloud services. BlackBridge is developing the infrastructure and systems to make managing and consuming geospatial imagery data easy, while also giving users access to a powerful cloud system for processing imagery into value added information products.

BlackBridge Geomatics creates geo-image and geoinformation products and services that help clients make fast, accurate decisions. This includes satellite data reception, image processing, custom application development, and online data access. Through the use of an extensive imagery archive collected by the RapidEye satellite constellation, Geomatics also offers tasking services, custom mosaics, and image processing and hosting.

RapidEye became part of the BlackBridge brand in 2011, after BlackBridge acquired the German company along with its constellation of five satellites. The RapidEye Constellation, featuring five spectral bands, five-meter resolution, and a daily collection capacity of up to five million square kilometers, has now become an integral part of the BlackBridge business.

In 2013, RapidEye and BlackBridge became a fully integrated business by officially rebranding to BlackBridge. Previously RapidEye had a heavy focus on the value-added products and services business. Now BlackBridge is working to bring the industry-leading collection capacity of the RapidEye constellation to a broader market, and using cloud services to make that imagery easier to discover, share, and use.

Though much has changed with BlackBridge over the years, CTO Scott Soenen reaffirms that “BlackBridge will continue to have the same relationships with customers and partners while expanding the products that we can offer them.” While focusing on the capacity for broad-area mapping, BlackBridge will continue to carve a definitive niche with its upcoming RapidEye+ mission. BlackBridge reinforced its commitment to providing data continuity by releasing details of the RapidEye+ constellation concept. RapidEye+ will be a constellation of five satellites with an imaging capacity that will far exceed the current RapidEye constellation’s capacity of 5 million km2 per day.

The industry will see a stronger, more globally engaged company. BlackBridge will use its extensive infrastructure and high-resolution imagery to provide even better solutions for its customers and partners in the future

In reference to the new constellation, CEO Ryan Johnson said, “RapidEye+ will allow BlackBridge to address the growing high-resolution imagery market, with an unmatched imaging capacity. It also allows us to continue to serve and grow our core markets in agriculture, REDD, and environmental monitoring with enhanced capabilities.”

With these facilities and technology combined, BlackBridge is in a unique position to provide customers with customizable solutions across the globe that are cost-effective, easily accessible, and efficiently acquired. CEO Ryan Johnson states, “The industry will see a stronger, more globally engaged company. BlackBridge will use its extensive infrastructure and high-resolution imagery to provide even better solutions for its customers and partners in the future.”