PARIS — Earth imagery startup company Planet Labs says it has secured funding to launch an additional 72 satellites into low Earth orbit in the next 12 months, completing a 100-satellite constellation when added to the 28 shoebox-sized satellites released in February from the international space station.
San Francisco-based Planet Labs on March 17 said the launches have been financed from a December capital raise that netted $52 million from investors led by Yuri Milner. Earlier financial backers of Planet Labs include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Founders Fund Angel, Data Collective, First Round Capital and Innovation Endeavors.
The company said that with 100 satellites its constellation will be able to collect images of the entire Earth every 24 hours.
“Imaging the Earth at this frequency will help us to measure things from deforestation, to improving agricultural yield, to detecting overfishing,” company co-founder Will Marshall said in a statement.
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