Planet Launches Three Additional High Resolution Pelican Satellites

Planet Labs has successfully launched three additional Pelican high resolution imaging satellites aboard the CAS500 2 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The launch marks the first Pelican spacecraft delivered under the company’s satellite services agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces, expanding Planet’s role in providing sovereign space capabilities to allied defense partners.

Strengthening Allied Space Capabilities With Rapid Deployment

The Swedish Armed Forces Pelican satellite reached orbit just over four months after contract signing, accelerating Sweden’s transition into an operational space power. The spacecraft will support high resolution global monitoring, including strategic regions such as the Arctic, and contribute to NATO’s broader situational awareness. The milestone demonstrates the agility of Planet’s manufacturing and deployment model, which enabled Sweden to achieve orbital capability years ahead of its original 2030 target.

AI Enabled Imaging and On Orbit Edge Processing

The newly launched satellites join the existing Pelican Gen 1 fleet and are equipped with NVIDIA Jetson based edge computing hardware. Planet has already demonstrated AI driven, near real time object detection on orbit using Pelican 4, validating the fleet’s ability to process imagery before downlink. The Gen 1 satellites capture 50 centimeter class multispectral imagery across six bands optimized for cross sensor analysis, supporting defense, intelligence, and environmental monitoring missions.

Expanding High Resolution Tasking Capacity

Once commissioning is complete, the satellites will enhance Planet’s high resolution tasking services by increasing revisit rates and improving responsiveness for time sensitive operations. The company continues to scale Pelican production to meet rising global demand for sovereign satellite ownership and high fidelity monitoring solutions. Planet’s Global Monitoring Service leverages the Pelican fleet to deliver rapid, actionable imagery for mission critical decision making.

Roadmap Toward Higher Resolution Gen 2 Systems

Planet plans to launch additional Pelican Gen 1 spacecraft and the first Pelican Gen 2 satellites later in 2026. The Gen 2 design is expected to provide up to 30 centimeter class resolution, further expanding the company’s capabilities in high resolution Earth observation. For aerospace and defense users, the roadmap signals continued investment in rapid revisit, AI enabled, and sovereign imaging architectures.