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Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Preparation
The Company has prepared its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis, except for certain financial assets and liabilities, including derivative financial instruments, that are stated at fair value. Unless otherwise indicated, amounts presented in the Notes pertain to the Company’s continuing operations.
Effective January 1, 2025, the Company reclassified its captions on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss to better align with the Company’s increasing portfolio of mission solutions product offerings and advanced technology program service offerings. Revenue and costs that were previously classified as imagery & software analytical services are now classified as space-based intelligence & AI services. Professional & engineering services are now either classified as mission solutions if they are related to the Company's product offerings or advanced technology programs if they are related to the Company's service offerings. As a result, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, the amounts presented have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
In addition, certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingencies at the reporting date, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions the Company
may undertake in the future. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates. Significant estimates made by the Company include, but are not limited to, revenue and associated cost recognition, the collectability of accounts receivable, the recoverability and useful lives of intangible assets and property and equipment, the valuation of equity warrants and warrant liabilities, fair value estimates, the recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets, the provision for income taxes, the incremental borrowing rate to measure the operating lease right of use assets, the effective interest rate of the vendor financing agreement, the capitalization of interest, stock-based compensation, and the obsolescence of satellite work in process and inventory.
Investments
Investments
The Company invests in short-term investments, which generally consist of A-1, or higher, rated corporate debt and governmental securities. The investments are classified as held-to-maturity and have a stated maturity date of one year or less from the balance sheet date. Any investments with original maturities less than three months are considered cash equivalents.
As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the Company’s short-term investments had a carrying value, representing amortized cost, of $76.1 million and $82.0 million, respectively, and an aggregate fair value, representing a Level 1 measurement based off of the fair value hierarchy, of $76.1 million and $82.1 million, respectively
Inventories
Inventories
Inventories are production costs associated with anticipated future revenue contracts. As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the Company had $6.2 million of work in process inventory. Inventories are stated on a consistent basis at the lower of historical cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is determined as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The Company estimates future sales and will write down excess inventories as needed. The Company had a reserve of $0 for inventory as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025. The Company’s estimates of future sales are based on confirmed and expected customer contracts. The carrying values of inventories approximated their fair values as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company accounts for certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
The process for analyzing the fair value measurement of certain financial instruments on a recurring, or non-recurring, basis includes significant judgment and estimates of inputs including, but not limited to, share price, volatility, discount for lack of marketability, application of an appropriate discount rate, and probability of liquidating events. The Company utilizes the market valuation methodology and specific option pricing methodology, such as the Monte Carlo simulation, to value its more complex financial instruments, whereas the Company utilizes the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value standard common stock warrants and common stock options.
The framework for measuring fair value specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company's assumptions. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement).
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
Level 1 Inputs. Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities available at the measurement date.
Level 2 Inputs. Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data.
Level 3 Inputs. Inputs are unobservable inputs which reflect the Company’s own assumptions on what assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best available information.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition
The Company generates revenue from the sale of space-based intelligence & AI services, mission solutions, and advanced technology programs. Revenue generated from space-based intelligence & AI services and advanced technology programs is classified as service revenue and revenue generated from mission solutions is classified as product revenue. Space-based intelligence & AI services revenue is primarily generated from subscription contracts with domestic and international government agencies and includes imagery, data, software, and analytics. This revenue is primarily recognized from services rendered under non-cancellable subscription order agreements or, in limited circumstances, variable not-to-exceed purchase orders. Mission solutions revenue is generated from cost-plus contracts and firm fixed price long-term engineering and development contracts. Advanced technology programs revenue is primarily generated from cost-plus contracts, time and materials basis contracts and firm-fixed price service solutions contracts.
In accordance with Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606”), the Company uses the five-step model of identifying the contract with a customer, identifying the performance obligations contained in a contract, determining the transaction price, allocating the transaction price, and determining when performance obligations are satisfied. Application of this model requires the application of significant judgment, as further discussed below.
Revenue is measured as the fair value of consideration received or receivable and net of discounts. The Company applies a policy election to exclude transaction taxes collected from customer sales when the tax is both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction. The Company estimates any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. Variable consideration is estimated as the most likely amount that is dependent upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of a future event. We continually review, and may reassess, the transaction price based on forecasted service level provisions within a limited amount of our customer purchase orders, costs incurred to date and historical experience. As a result, we may update our estimated constraints on revenue, which are generally provided on a prospective basis. The Company did not have any active contracts with significant variable consideration as of March 31, 2026.
Space-Based Intelligence and AI Services Revenue
Space-based intelligence & AI services revenue include imagery delivered from the Company’s proprietary satellite constellation and BlackSky Spectra software platform and, in limited cases, imagery directly uploaded to certain customers. Customers can directly task the Company's proprietary satellite constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites and regions that are critical to their operations. The Company offers customers several service level subscription options that include on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs. Assured access customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity at a premium over a region of interest on a take or pay basis. Imagery revenue is recognized over the subscription period based on the promise to continuously provide contractual satellite capacity for tasked imagery or analytics at the discretion of the customer. These products, based on the context of the contract, are capable of being distinct performance obligations.
The Company leverages proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both the Company’s proprietary sensor network and third-party space and terrestrial sources to provide hard-to-get data, insights, and analytics for customers. The Company continues to integrate and enhance its offerings by
performing contract development, while retaining the intellectual property rights. The Company also offers services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics services that can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.
The Company's analytics services are also offered on a similar subscription basis and provide customers with access to the Company's site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. Analogous with the recognition of revenue for imagery, software analytical services revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period.
Mission Solutions Revenue
The Company provides mission solutions, which develop and deliver customized advanced satellite and payload systems for a limited number of customers, leveraging the Company’s capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations. These offerings furnish government customers with an end-to-end pathway to customized sovereign space-based intelligence capabilities, enabling nations to accelerate the development, launch, and operation of their own space programs with full autonomy and control, ground station operations, and software and systems development. Mission solutions revenue is generated from cost-plus contracts and firm fixed price long-term engineering and development contracts. Mission Solutions is often purchased in conjunction with our imagery and analytics to address interim or additional capacity or capability needs, or coupled with our advanced technology programs to further optimize a customer’s experience.
Advanced Technology Programs Revenue
The Company offers various advanced technology programs, including technology enabled professional service solutions to support customer-specific software development requests, integration, testing, and training. These services, based on the context of the contract, are capable of being distinct performance obligations.
Advanced technology programs revenue is generated from cost-plus contracts, time and materials basis contracts and firm-fixed price service solutions contracts. For contracts structured as cost-plus or on a time and materials basis, the Company recognizes revenue based on the right-to-invoice practical expedient, as the Company is contractually able to invoice the customer based on the control transferred to the customer in an amount that corresponds directly with the value to the customer of the Company’s performance completed to date.

Estimate at Completion ("EAC") Adjustments
For firm fixed price mission solutions and advanced technology programs contracts, the Company recognizes revenue over time using the cost to cost input method to measure progress to complete the performance obligation. A performance obligation's EAC includes all direct costs such as labor, fringe, materials, subcontract costs and overhead. The Company uses significant judgment to estimate total costs at completion on a performance obligation by performance obligation basis including, but not limited to, labor productivity, program schedule, technical risk analysis, complexity, scope of the work and identified risks. Due to the continuous nature of the work, as well as when a change in circumstances warrants a modification, the EAC is reviewed and may result in cumulative changes to the contract profit. The Company recognizes changes in estimated contract sales or costs and the resulting changes in contract profit on a cumulative basis in the period in which the change is identified. If, at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on a contract, the Company recognizes the total loss as and when known. The following table presents the effect of aggregate net EAC adjustments on the Company's contracts:
Three Months Ended March 31,
2026
2025
(in thousands)
Revenue
$
(145)
$
(206)
Basic and diluted net loss per share
$
0.00 
$
(0.01)
Costs and Expenses
Space-based intelligence & AI services costs primarily include cloud computing and hosting services, internal labor to support the ground station network and space operations, and third-party data and imagery. Mission solutions costs primarily include the cost of direct materials to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payloads, and sensor integration, as well as internal labor for design and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for customized customer satellites and payload systems. The Company also recognizes internal labor costs and external subcontract labor costs for its customer-centric software products. Advanced technology programs costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for service solutions that enhance customer adoption and operational integration of our technology.
Additionally, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for those employees who provide direct labor to support the Company's product and service offerings.
Sponsor Shares
Sponsor Shares
On September 9, 2021, BlackSky's predecessor company, Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (“Osprey”), completed its merger (the “Merger”) with Osprey Technology Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osprey, and BlackSky Holdings, Inc. Osprey pre-Merger Class B common shares were exchanged for shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the "Sponsor Shares") upon completion of the Merger. The Company accounted for the Sponsor Shares in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40, under which the Sponsor Shares did not meet the criteria for equity treatment and were recorded as derivative liabilities in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2026. The Sponsor Shares are adjusted to fair value at each reporting period and any net gains or losses in the change in fair value are recognized in (loss) gain on derivatives in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-Based Compensation
Restricted Stock Units
The Company grants restricted stock units ("RSUs") to certain employees, for which the grant date fair value is equal to the fair value of the Class A common stock on the date of grant. The Company uses the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) trading price as the fair value of the Class A common stock for valuation purposes. For all awards where vesting is only subject to a service condition, including those subject to graded vesting, the Company has elected to use the straight-line method to recognize the fair value as compensation cost over the requisite service period. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employee's cash compensation.
Stock Options
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value all options, including stock options and options issued under the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP"), and the straight-line method to recognize the fair value as compensation cost over the requisite service period. The fair value of each option is estimated as of the date of grant. The Company did not grant any stock options during the three months ended March 31, 2026
Accounting Standards Recently Adopted
Accounting Standards Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03 Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. ASU 2024-03 requires disaggregation of certain expense captions into specified categories in disclosures within the footnotes to the financial statements. ASU 2024-03 will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027 and will be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The Company is evaluating the disclosure impact of ASU 2024-03; however, it is not expected that the standard will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.
In September 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-06 Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal-Use Software. ASU 2025-06 amends certain aspects of the accounting for and disclosure of software costs, primarily modernizing the guidance to reflect the software development approaches currently used. ASU 2025-06 will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2027 and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period. The Company is in the early stages of evaluating the adoption impact and cannot yet reasonably estimate the impact to the consolidated financial statements.
In December 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-11 Interim Reporting (Topic 270): Narrow-Scope Improvements. ASU 2025-11 clarifies the applicability of Topic 270 and the form and content of interim financial statements. In addition, ASU 2025-11 requires entities to disclose material events occurring since the last annual reporting period. ASU 2025-11 will be effective for interim periods beginning January 1, 2028, and can be applied on a prospective or retrospective basis. The Company is in the early stages of evaluating the adoption impact and cannot yet reasonably estimate the impact to the consolidated financial statements.