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The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded six companies — BlackSky Technology, HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel, Planet, and Xplore — study contracts for commercial hyperspectral imagery. The NRO will use these study contracts to “explore the potential of commercial hyperspectral imagery,” NRO Director Chris Scolese said in Wednesday’s announcement. The contracts are a two-stage effort. The NRO said the first stage focuses on analytical studies to estimate capabilities at the individual sensor and constellation levels, as well as business and cybersecurity planning. The second stage focuses on assessing…
