Planet Labs launches Pelican Gen 2 technology satellite

• Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) launched Pelican-11, a technology demonstration satellite for its next-generation Pelican fleet.
• The satellite launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare mission and has begun commissioning after initial contact.
• Gen 2 Pelican satellites are designed to deliver up to 30 cm class imagery compared with 50 cm class resolution from Gen 1.

Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) announced the successful launch of Pelican-11, a technology demonstration satellite designed to support the development of its second-generation Pelican high-resolution imaging fleet.

The spacecraft launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and Planet has begun the commissioning process after establishing initial contact.

Planet said Pelican-11 will serve as an engineering pathfinder to test and validate new satellite technologies before they are deployed on future Gen 2 Pelican spacecraft.

The demonstration satellite is not expected to produce commercially available data.

Planet’s Gen 2 Pelican satellites are designed to provide imagery with up to 30 cm class resolution, improving on the 50 cm class capability of the first-generation Pelican fleet.

The company said it plans to launch additional Pelican satellites over the next year to expand AI-powered Earth monitoring capabilities.