Planet Labs announced the successful launch of its next‑generation Pelican‑5 and Pelican‑6 satellites, along with 36 SuperDove satellites from the Flock 4H series, on a SpaceX Transporter‑15 rideshare that lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday, November 28, 2025. The announcement was made on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
The new Pelican satellites are the first in Planet’s Gen 1 fleet to carry NVIDIA Jetson GPUs, enabling on‑orbit edge AI processing. Each satellite will capture 40‑centimeter resolution imagery across six multispectral bands, a 20‑centimeter improvement over the existing 50‑centimeter Gen 1 Pelicans. The AI platform will allow the satellites to perform real‑time image classification and anomaly detection, reducing the time between capture and actionable insight for customers.
Adding 36 SuperDove satellites expands Planet’s high‑cadence constellation that powers its daily PlanetScope service. The SuperDoves provide 1‑kilometer resolution imagery with a 1‑day revisit cycle, supporting applications from agriculture to disaster response. The combined fleet increase raises Planet’s global revisit rate to 1.5 times its previous level, accelerating data delivery for defense, civil‑government, and commercial clients.
The launch underscores Planet’s strategy to blend high‑resolution imaging with AI‑driven analytics. Management highlighted that the new satellites will strengthen the company’s competitive position against rivals such as Maxar and Airbus, and will help capture growing demand for near‑real‑time geospatial intelligence. The company’s CEO, Will Marshall, noted that “the AI capabilities on the new Pelicans will enable customers to extract insights faster than ever before, reinforcing our leadership in the Earth‑observation market.”
Market participants reacted positively to the announcement. Analysts upgraded their outlooks for the company, citing the expanded fleet and AI edge processing as key growth drivers. The company’s guidance for the remainder of 2025 remains unchanged, but the launch is expected to support the projected increase in data‑delivery volume and reinforce the company’s high‑margin AI platform segment.
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