{"title":"BlackSky vs iQPS: Earth observation compared","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/compare/blacksky-vs-iqps","comparison":"BlackSky ranks 34 on the Space 100 with a score of 78; iQPS ranks 47 with 75. BlackSky is ahead on commercials, progress and technology. iQPS is ahead on deployment and leverage. Level on production, positioning and firepower. BlackSky is based in Herndon, United States, iQPS in Fukuoka, Japan. BlackSky: Established. iQPS: Public. BlackSky is named in 30 signals and iQPS in 32.","companies":[{"name":"BlackSky","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/blacksky","city":"Herndon","country":"United States","stage":"Established","founded":null,"last_round":null,"positioning":"BlackSky is a US Earth-observation operator (NYSE:BKSY) deploying its Gen-3 constellation (35cm imagery, sub-hourly revisit), with FY25 record revenue of $107M, Q2-26 revenue of $33M (+50%), and FY26 guidance of $130-150M at positive adjusted EBITDA (a second consecutive positive-EBITDA year). Backlog reached ~$380M by Q1-26 (including a $99M sole-source AFRL IDIQ ceiling), with more than 80% of funded backlog in multi-year international subscription contracts and international growth now outpacing the US. It is converting bespoke missions into recurring subscriptions while spending up to $60M capex to scale Gen-3.","assessed_in":{"domain":"Space","list":"Space 100","rank":34,"score":78,"tier":"member","scores":{"gate_ne":["firepower"],"leverage":6,"position":8,"progress":10,"firepower":8,"commercial":8,"deployment":8,"production":6,"technology":8},"why":"BlackSky provides real-time satellite-derived intelligence for tactical surveillance, tracking and ISR customers including the U.S. Space Force and international defense users.","segment":"Earth observation","layer":"Satellites & spacecraft"},"signals_total":30,"facts_total":38},{"name":"iQPS","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/iqps","city":"Fukuoka","country":"Japan","stage":"Public","founded":null,"last_round":null,"positioning":"iQPS is a Japanese SAR operator (TSE-listed) running the QPS-SAR constellation (8+ satellites under JSAT operations contracts, QPS-SAR-15 first-light images in January 2026), which raised a JPY 15.2B PIPE in March 2026 (SKY Perfect JSAT, Mitsui Sumitomo taking 18.23%) for mass production and launches. It is a member of the winning Japanese MoD Satellite Constellation Project consortium (December 2025), the sovereign-SAR national team, carrying the same MoD-dependency flag as Synspective. Revenue is estimated at 10-100m class.","assessed_in":{"domain":"Space","list":"Space 100","rank":47,"score":75,"tier":"member","scores":{"gate_ne":["firepower"],"leverage":8,"position":8,"progress":9,"firepower":8,"commercial":4,"deployment":9,"production":6,"technology":6},"why":"iQPS operates the QPS-SAR constellation of small radar satellites, providing day-and-night Earth observation imagery with little sensitivity to cloud cover.","segment":"Earth observation","layer":"Satellites & spacecraft"},"signals_total":32,"facts_total":39}],"note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}