Planet Labs Releases First Light Image From Its Pelican-12 Satellite Captured Over Luanda, Angola

The image was taken on October 30, 2026, from an altitude of approximately 589 km, following Pelican-12’s launch aboard SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As the spacecraft completes its instrument calibration process and approaches its final operational orbit, image quality is expected to further improve.

Pelican-12 is Planet’s 25th satellite brought to orbit this year across four successful launches, showcasing the speed, innovation, and consistency of Planet’s agile aerospace approach. Planet’s rapid and robust production capabilities, bolstered by the recent opening of its new Berlin manufacturing facility, make it the clear choice for customers seeking sovereign satellite and dedicated access capacity. This reduced time-to-value made Planet the clear choice for the governments of Japan, Sweden, and Germany to entrust with building their proprietary satellite capabilities.

Pelican-12 is Planet’s first 30 cm class capable satellite, and carries the NVIDIA Jetson platform for onboard edge compute. The spacecraft will initially deliver 50 cm class imagery, and is designed to capture 30 cm class imagery after being lowered to its operational altitude.

Pelican-12 is also designed to assess new technologies ahead of their implementation on future Planet spacecraft. Pelican-12 carries a technology demonstration of a new communications package that is designed to enable reduced latency of data delivery.

"This crisp first image tells us that Pelican-12 is healthy and performing well after launch," said James Mason, Chief Space Officer at Planet. "Each new Pelican we launch gives us lessons for the next build. For example, the updated payload and communication systems on Pelican-12 are informed by Pelican-11, our engineering pathfinder launched in July. With additional Pelican launches planned for 2027, we’re continuing to build out this advanced, AI-enabled constellation to keep pace with rising demand for high-resolution data."

With the official opening of Planet’s Berlin manufacturing facility in September, and further Pelican missions scheduled for 2027, Planet is continuing to grow its high-resolution capacity and Satellite Services offerings to meet customer demand. To learn more about Planet's Pelican constellations and capabilities, visit https://www.planet.com/constellations/pelican/.