Planet Labs PBC Expands Satellite Constellation with Pelican-5 and Pelican-6 Launch

Planet Labs PBC has announced the arrival of two Pelican-5 and Pelican-6 satellites and 36 SuperDoves of Flock 4H at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ahead of their launch aboard the Transporter-15 rideshare mission with SpaceX. The Pelican satellites will expand Planet's capacity for on-demand, high-resolution tasking and provide on-orbit processing capabilities. The SuperDoves will bolster Planet's daily, global monitoring mission and enhance its Maritime Domain Awareness and Global Monitoring Service capabilities.

Planet Labs PBC (PL), a leading provider of daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions, has announced the arrival of two Pelican-5 and Pelican-6 satellites and 36 SuperDoves of Flock 4H at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. These spacecraft are scheduled to launch aboard the upcoming Transporter-15 rideshare mission with SpaceX Planet Ships 2 More Pelicans and 36 SuperDoves to Launch Site^[1].

The Pelican-5 and Pelican-6 satellites will be the newest additions to Planet’s first generation Pelican constellation. These satellites are built to provide 50 cm imagery across six multispectral bands optimized for cross-sensor analysis. Each first generation Pelican spacecraft is equipped with the NVIDIA Jetson AI platform, enabling on-orbit processing and accelerating the delivery of actionable insights to customers Planet Ships 2 More Pelicans and 36 SuperDoves to Launch Site^[1].

Planet expects to develop the Pelican fleet to ultimately deliver 30 cm resolution imagery, reduced latency from hours to minutes, and up to 30 revisits per day, depending on the fully-scaled constellation size. Following the successful launches and commissionings of Pelican-2, Pelican-3, and Pelican-4 this year, Pelican-5 and Pelican-6 will expand the capacity of the constellation to provide on-demand, high-resolution tasking for customers across a range of industries, from defense and intelligence to commercial enterprise. Planet has plans for multiple launches of additional Pelican satellites over the next twelve months Planet Ships 2 More Pelicans and 36 SuperDoves to Launch Site^[1].

In addition to the Pelican spacecraft, this launch includes 36 SuperDoves (Flock 4H), which will bolster Planet’s flagship daily, global PlanetScope monitoring mission. This addition further solidifies Planet's industry leadership in Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and Global Monitoring Service (GMS) – providing customers with real-time, global monitoring across millions of square kilometers. Combining PlanetScope with Planet’s high-resolution imagery and rapid tasking capabilities, the company uniquely empowers its customers to monitor change and make better, faster decisions Planet Ships 2 More Pelicans and 36 SuperDoves to Launch Site^[1].

Planet Labs PBC is expanding its manufacturing capabilities, with recent decisions to expand production in Germany. This expansion is driven by the high demand for Planet’s high-resolution data, which is fueling the growth of its satellite constellations Planet Labs to Begin Production of Pelican Satellites in Germany^[3].

The successful deployment of these satellites and SuperDoves is expected to enhance Planet's ability to deliver consistent and timely information to its customers, further solidifying its leadership in the satellite imagery and geospatial solutions market.