Planet Says Pelican Satellites Will Offer 30-Centimeter Resolution

A rendering of a Planet Pelican satellite. Photo: Planet

Planet Labs announced Thursday that its next-generation Pelican constellation will provide up to 30 cm resolution. The constellation is also designed for greater revisit rate and will and give customers 12 imaging opportunities per day over most of the Earth and up to 30 imaging opportunities per day in mid-latitudes.

This is the same resolution level as Maxar’s WorldView Legion constellation.

Pelican a 32-satellite upgrade to Planet’s SkySat fleet of 21 satellites. Planet plans to begin launching Pelican satellites next year, subject to FCC licensing. This fleet is designed to offer finer detailed information and provide improved locational accuracy.

Pelican will also utilize third-party communications satellites to download data with reduced latency and provide shorter time loops between tasking and receiving data across the world. The satellites will also use electric propulsion and have significant on-board computing powers.

“We are seeing strong and growing demand from multiple market segments for our high resolution products today. We have designed our next generation Pelican fleet to meet the evolving needs of customers who want real-time information about global events as they unfold – from floods and wildfires to political conflicts and threats to human rights. Pelican’s rapid response and higher resolution will do exactly that,” said Planet’s co-founder and CEO Will Marshall.

Separately, Planet announced a strategic relationship with Moody’s global risk assessment firm to explore and address demand for  monitoring solutions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.