Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) is a commercial Earth observation company headquartered in San Francisco, California, founded in December 2010 and publicly listed in December 2021 via SPAC merger.^[1] The company operates a large commercial EO satellite constellation delivering multispectral, very-high-resolution, and hyperspectral imagery through a multi-tenant SaaS platform.^[2]

The PlanetScope constellation, based on Planet's Dove satellite design, provides near-daily global monitoring over all landmasses at 3-meter ground sample distance.^[3] The current operational fleet uses the SuperDove (PSB.SD) generation, carrying eight spectral bands from coastal blue (443 nm) to near-infrared (865 nm) at 525 km orbital altitude. Two earlier Dove generations (PS2 Dove Classic and PS2.SD Dove-R) are available as historical archives; they are radiometrically distinct from SuperDove imagery and require Planet's harmonization tool for cross-generation time-series work.

The SkySat constellation, acquired from Google (via Terra Bella / Skybox Imaging) in April 2017, provides 50-centimeter resolution imagery with up to ten daily tasking passes per location.^[4][5] The Pelican constellation is Planet's next-generation very-high-resolution offering, providing 50-centimeter imagery in Generation 1 (commercial operations from 2025) and targeting 30-centimeter in Generation 2, with on-orbit AI processing via NVIDIA Jetson hardware.^[6] Pelican features an 8-kilometer swath and a Cassegrain telescope with 4.03-meter effective focal length.

Tanager-1, launched August 16, 2024 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, is a hyperspectral satellite developed with Carbon Mapper, NASA JPL, and philanthropic partners.^[7] The instrument covers 380 to 2500 nm across 426 bands at 5 nm spacing, at 30-meter GSD and 18-kilometer swath, using a mercury-cadmium-telluride detector.^[8] The mission targets methane and carbon dioxide point-source detection, with an open data catalog available for research use.

Planet serves government, defense, intelligence, agriculture, forestry, finance, insurance, maritime, and sustainability sectors. A dedicated division, Planet Federal, manages US government and defense relationships. For FY2025 (year ending January 31, 2025), Planet reported revenue of $244.35 million and an operating loss of $116.12 million.^[9]