Aug. 17 at 12:59 AM
$PL
Why Did Planet Labs Launch Pelican-11? A Deep Dive for Investors
① The Question: Why Pelican-11?
On July 7, 2026, Planet Labs launched its new high-resolution satellite, Pelican-11. The company successfully made first contact and has now entered the commissioning phase to test its performance in an actual space environment.
However, if you just read this as “Planet added another satellite to its fleet,” you are missing the bigger picture. Pelican-11 is not a standard commercial satellite added to immediately sell imagery.
So, why did Planet spend the capital to send a non-revenue-generating satellite into space?