Planet
Earth imagery companies reimagine satellite tasking
Earth observation startups and established firms have streamlined satellite tasking.
Planet reveals $146 million NRO award and quarterly revenues
Planet revealed the value of its largest contract to date, a two-year $146 million award from the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imagery over two years, during the company’s June 14 earnings call.
Analysts: NRO contracts will have long-term ripple effects on satellite imagery industry
The contracts recently awarded by the National Reconnaissance Office to BlackSky, Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs will likely reshape the imagery market, says a new report from Quilty Analytics.
A boom in Earth observation satellites creating new demands for intelligence
Crises such as the covid pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine are fueling demand for geospatial information
Planet Pelicans to offer high resolution and revisit rates
The Pelican constellation, scheduled to begin launching in early 2023 will offer at least 10 daily views of Earth’s land mass and as many as 32 views of midlatitude locations with a resolution of 30 centimeters per pixel.
Russian ASAT debris creating “squalls” of close approaches with satellites
Debris from a Russian antisatellite weapon demonstration in November are creating surges of close approaches, in some cases tens of thousands in a week, with active satellites in low Earth orbit.
Small satellite constellations promise resilient communications and Earth observation
Small satellite constellations provide valuable communications links in the wake of natural disasters, according to speakers at the SmallSat Symposium here.
NASA to continue buying Earth-observation datasets
NASA intends to continue buying data gathered by commercial Earth-observation satellites.
SpaceX launches third dedicated smallsat rideshare mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 placed more than 100 smallsats into orbit Jan. 13 as the company accelerates the pace of its dedicated rideshare missions.
Space SPACs look to rebound in 2022
Space companies used mergers with special purpose acquisition corporations, or SPACs, to grow their businesses in 2021, but many shareholders were left underwater at the end of the year.
Planet shares begin trading on New York Stock Exchange
Planet completed its merger with special purpose acquisition company dMY Technology Group IV and began trading shares on the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 8 under the ticker symbol PL.
Space companies forge alliance to reduce in-orbit debris by 2030
Ten companies and organizations from across the space industry have vowed to devise concrete measures for reducing the amount of in-orbit debris by 2030.
Planet to acquire VanderSat in $28 million deal
Planet announced an agreement to acquire VanderSat, a Dutch company that provides data on Earth surface conditions, like soil moisture and land surface temperature for about $28 million.
Planet unveils Pelican Earth-imaging constellation
Planet unveiled “very high resolution” Pelican Earth-imaging satellites and announced plans to bring synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) into its Planet Fusion Monitoring data stream.
NRO establishes licenses and cybersecurity rules for commercial imagery providers
The National Reconnaissance Office roadmap for bringing commercial satellite imagery into its hybrid space architecture emphasizes cybersecurity and licenses that enable the agency to share data with partners inside and outside the U.S. government.
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen to fly with Blue Origin
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen will be one of four passengers on the next flight of the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital vehicle.
Planet provides data to federal civilian agencies under NASA contract
Researchers delving into climate change, biodiversity loss and other topics through work funded by U.S. federal civilian agencies and the National Science Foundation will have access to Planet Earth-observation data through September 2022, under a NASA contract announced Sept. 14.
Geospatial intelligence giving supply chain clarity in uncertain times
From hiking the price of cars to impacting the readiness of militaries, the havoc that COVID-19 wreaks across supply chains is far-ranging and sometimes surprising.
Planet and SpaceX announce multiyear launch agreement
Planet announced a multiyear agreement Aug. 5 that designates SpaceX as the Earth-observation company’s “go-to-launch provider through the end of 2025.”
Planet valued at $2.8 billion in SPAC deal
Planet announced July 7 it will go public in a $2.8 billion deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the second SPAC deal in the Earth observation sector in as many days.
