BlackSky Wins Exclusive Optical Role in $1 Billion Altair-Next Gen

BlackSky Technology (BKSY ) said on September 9, 2026, that it was named the exclusive provider of very-high-resolution electro-optical satellites for what the company described as the world’s first AI-enabled satellite constellation. The announcement was made at the International Space Summit in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Marlan Space and Loft Orbital, BlackSky said.

BlackSky Gen-3 satellites will form part of a fifty-satellite constellation developed under a USD $1 billion investment that the company’s release describes as led by a consortium of Marlan Space, Loft Orbital, Mistral AI and other global space leaders in the UAE and France. The initial constellation will carry radar, optical and other sensors and is designed to serve users across France, Europe and the UAE. BlackSky said its Gen-3 satellites will provide very-high-resolution imaging capability as part of an AI-enabled intelligence platform that delivers actionable insights and alerts in seconds.

“This consortium of international industry leaders brings together best-in-class AI and space technologies to accelerate the development of new applications for AI in space,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky’s chief executive officer. “The program reinforces our commitment to forging long-term global partnerships that advance sovereign space capabilities, a key part of our Mission Solutions business strategy.”

The Altair-Next Gen Consortium

A consortium announcement hosted by IHC names the program Altair-Next Gen, which it describes as the world’s largest artificial intelligence satellite infrastructure, and states that the plan was announced and signed on September 9, 2026, at the International Space Summit in Paris in Macron’s presence. Marlan Space, which the release describes as a UAE-based investor and operator in space technology and an IHC subsidiary, and Loft Orbital are leading the consortium in the $1 billion investment in France.

The initial phase comprises fifty satellites carrying radar, optical and other sensors, built to serve government users, including French, European and Emirati customers, along with a global base of commercial and sovereign customers. The satellite infrastructure will be held in a dedicated French company, which the release states pairs Emirati capital and manufacturing strength with European supply chain and space heritage.

The satellites are produced by Orbitworks at its purpose-built facility in KEZAD, Abu Dhabi, which the release describes as the region’s largest high-volume site for commercial constellations and which also hosts satellite operations, giving the program the industrial capacity to scale from ten satellites to fifty. Orbitworks was formed in 2024 as a joint venture between Marlan Space and Loft Orbital. The first ten satellites are already in production in Abu Dhabi, with the first AI satellite launching in October 2026. MaiaSpace has been selected as the preferred launch partner as its launch services become commercially available.

The consortium announcement followed IHC’s disclosure on September 8, 2026, that its wholly owned subsidiary International Tech Group SP LLC is in the process of acquiring an 80% stake in Marlan Holding RSC Ltd, the holding company behind Marlan Space, subject to regulatory approvals. IHC said the transaction expands its technology portfolio into deeptech and the new space economy. In that release, IHC described Orbitworks as the Middle East’s first private space infrastructure company and said the flagship Altair constellation’s first satellite is completed, with additional satellites being assembled in Abu Dhabi. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

On-Orbit Analysis and the AI Application Store

According to the consortium release, Altair-Next Gen satellites will analyze what they observe while still in orbit and transmit the event rather than the raw imagery, delivering an alert to the user within seconds. Conventional systems, the release states, deliver data hours later, once the data has been downloaded and processed on the ground. It describes fifty satellites as the threshold at which this becomes a permanent capability rather than periodic observation, because one satellite is always close to where an event is unfolding.

Services will run through an AI application store in which users pick the models they need from several providers and run them on shared satellites, so one constellation serves many programs at the same time. First applications include maritime domain awareness, wildfire detection and disaster response, and the security of ports and critical infrastructure. The consortium states Altair-Next Gen will build on a customer base that already includes commercial and government customers in France and the UAE.

Mistral joins the consortium to bring frontier AI to space: its models will be deployed directly onboard next to the sensors, which the release states gives the constellation the ability to reason about what it observes and to be tasked in natural language, and will power services in the AI application store. The release states that Loft Orbital already operates more than 100 payloads and 20 AI missions in orbit and that, working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it demonstrated a satellite that runs a vision-language model onboard, understands what it sees and can be tasked in plain language.

The release states that BlackSky is joining the team and investing in France, and will provide high-resolution optical satellites it characterizes as the highest performance commercially available in the world. It states that BlackSky, with a majority of its supply chain in Europe, has a history of collaboration between the UAE, the US and France dating to building satellite buses for Loft Orbital through Leostella, its previous joint venture with Thales Alenia Space.

“Fifty satellites, in groups with different capabilities working as one system, make this one of the most advanced constellations in the world, and we are leading it, not just taking part in it,” said Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, chief executive officer of Marlan Space and Orbitworks, who signed on behalf of Marlan Space. Loft Orbital CEO Pierre-Damien Vaujour said his company has spent several years deploying AI applications in space and that the constellation gives partners developing agentic AI workflows a world-class satellite infrastructure. O’Toole said in the consortium release that BlackSky is proud to be selected as a key partner and the very-high-resolution optical provider on the program. IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb said the investment positions the UAE and France at the forefront of a rapidly evolving space economy.

The consortium states that additional European aerospace and AI leaders will be announced later in 2026, and BlackSky said it expects further details on the initiative to be announced later in 2026.