I have got some confirmations and clarifications from the GAUSS UniSat-5 team:Four Cubesats (PUCPSAT, I-CUBE 1, HUMSAT-D, Dove-4) and four PocketQubeSats (BeakerSat, QBScout, WREN and $50Sat) are on board of UniSat-5
Looks like Planetlabs just closed a $52M Series B financing round: http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/12/18/planet-labs-raises-52-million-series-financing/Add that to their existing ~$20M round, and they're closing in on the $100M SkyBox has raised to-date. I think their next 28 satellites are being launched on this next Cygnus flight, and will be deployed via the NanoRacks JEM RMS launcher (can't remember the exact name for it right now).~Jon
Yep. The 28 Planet Labs CubeSATs are part of the 95 kg late load cargo that is now being removed from Antares.
Quote from: Danderman on 12/18/2013 06:21 pmYep. The 28 Planet Labs CubeSATs are part of the 95 kg late load cargo that is now being removed from Antares.I believe our Flock is staying on board rather than being offloaded, since it's not perishable and is apparently near the bottom of the stack of cargo. If you've heard otherwise, I'd be interested in any info.
70 million for "toys" that can't do "jack squat".I want to be in toy business
Capitan Beto and Manolito (CubeBug-1 and CubeBug-2) were made to qualify parts for their microsats.
Quote from: baldusi on 12/24/2013 01:11 amCapitan Beto and Manolito (CubeBug-1 and CubeBug-2) were made to qualify parts for their microsats.Hm? While we wish the CubeBug folks every success, they have no affiliation with Planet Labs.
Bay area is the hotbed of Earth observation technology start-ups, generating a new ‘space race’and high-resolution cameras
Quote from: Danderman on 02/07/2014 02:07 pmBay area is the hotbed of Earth observation technology start-ups, generating a new ‘space race’and high-resolution camerasThis term gets thrown around a lot without much definition. For the military, "high resolution" means about 0.1 meter ground resolution. For commercial imaging, it generally means better than 1 meter ground resolution (and in common usage probably means better than 0.5 meter ground resolution).
Skybox Imaging, one of the three companies mentioned in the article, provides "sub-meter" resolution imagery.
Just to note that 28 of these were carried into orbit today.
And Will Marshall from PlanetLabs explained to me that the 16 3U sats are loaded onto the MPEP at once and takenoutside the airlock, but then are launched two at a time (with at least hours between launches). So that savestime and resources on airlock cycles, but still seems like Wakata's got a full-time job there for a while.
Koichi got good pictures.
Quote from: InfraNut2 on 02/11/2014 11:48 amKoichi got good pictures. Confirmed (This picture is from that second deployment).@Astro_Wakata tweeted: Congratulations on the successful deploy of the satellites by the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer and Kibo robotics! pic.twitter.com/GsUzvC8NKO
The satellites tumbled a little bit more than I expected, but it made for good visuals, as the setting sun highlighted different parts of them in sequence.
Does anyone know of an estimate of the lifetime of these sattelites when launched from the ISS at around 410 km altitude? It could be only a few months.
Quote from: Comga on 02/09/2014 08:16 pmDoes anyone know of an estimate of the lifetime of these sattelites when launched from the ISS at around 410 km altitude? It could be only a few months.I've heard numbers in the 6-12 months for typical cubesats (varies a lot based on satellite density and density variations in the upper atmosphere).~Jon
Q: Space station operates in a fairly low orbit. Will it limit the lifespan of your satellites?A: Without an on-board propulsion system, their life will be fairly limited. Our [business] model is based on our ability to mass-produce satellites. Instead of building a more sophisticated satellite with a 10-year lifetime, we chose to build a much simpler spacecraft with a design life of a couple of years and replenish the constellation.
The Planet Labs strategy is that they can obtain high resolution images from small aperture nanosats by flying in a much lower orbit than the large aperture imaging satellites. This will reduce their lifetime to a year or two but the launch capability provided by the ISS allows them to replace lost satellites easily and at relatively low cost.
Quote from: Danderman on 02/09/2014 02:38 pmSkybox Imaging, one of the three companies mentioned in the article, provides "sub-meter" resolution imagery.Yeah, although I haven't found anything specific. Some articles say "about a meter or less," but that's still somewhat vague. I also cannot find any specifics on their satellites. What are the dimensions and what is the diameter of their imaging mirror? It looks like the satellite may be about 80 cm tall and 60 cm on a side, and I would guess that puts the mirror diameter at 40-50 cm. Somebody could then plug that into the satellite altitude and get a decent guess at the resolution.http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/startup-skybox/
Was it planned that one of them deployed with the aperture already uncovered?
Actually, the aperture cover deployment sequence was designed that way (I agree that it is a bit surprising, but there were good reasons). The covers on the "rear" satellites open later, on a timer. All have successfully opened.
Getting back to the issue of populating the planes, I would imagine that by deploying the satellites in sequence over 48 hours, they would be more or less distributed evenly around the globe.
According to http://planet4589.org/space/jsr/latest.html all 16 Flock1 satellites from the first batch are now deployed and the MPEP could be back into Kibo for the next round.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Deploys: After the failure to launch satellites from 2 NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) yesterday, Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) console teams were able to confirm from photographs taken by Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata that the push-pin assemblies on all NRCSDs located on the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) were in good condition. Two additional satellites were subsequently launched today. Additional launches are planned for tomorrow and over the weekend, including attempts to launch again from the two deployers which failed to launch their satellites yesterday.
The linked report said 12 (not 16) had been deployed, excepting the 4 cubesats in deployer 4 and 5 that failed earlier as we know.
Quote from: InfraNut2 on 02/15/2014 11:24 amThe linked report said 12 (not 16) had been deployed, excepting the 4 cubesats in deployer 4 and 5 that failed earlier as we know.The text is not up-to-date, but the table below shows all 16 deployed.
I love it. Launch Vehicle: LEO, Site: LEO. Now did you counted them on the Antares flight? If so, you're double counting. Which is fine, but have you counted Huygens launched from Cassini in site Saturn Orbit?
Quote from: Olaf on 02/15/2014 11:45 amQuote from: InfraNut2 on 02/15/2014 11:24 amThe linked report said 12 (not 16) had been deployed, excepting the 4 cubesats in deployer 4 and 5 that failed earlier as we know.The text is not up-to-date, but the table below shows all 16 deployed.This table shows (among other stuff) a complete overview of the launch times of the whole first batch of 16 sats. Neat! I did not originally notice the table at the bottom; I stopped reading as soon as there was non-cubesat stuff.Thanks Olaf for the reference and pointing out the table and especially to Jonathan McDowell for the original report!I'll take the chance to quote the relevant lines, hoping Jonathan won't mind:
I really hope Nanoracks decide to publicize the ejection times in future - if they do this for assorted customerswhere (unlike PlanetLabs) I don't have contacts, I'm going to be stuck watching ISS ustream 24 hr per day to findout what is going on.
I don't think Jonathan makes many assumptions Of course Nanoracks knows the deployment times.In terms of naming the Planet Labs spacecraft, the Dove-N series (currently Dove-1 through -4) is reserved for experimental / tech demo missions, while the Flock series is for operational constellations. So although they are Dove-class, the Flock-1 satellites don't have a Dove- number. Dove-5 will be the next experimental sat sometime this year.
@planet4589 sats are Dove-5, Dove-6, Dove-7... and the constellation is Flock 1.
Yeah, that tweet is... unclear. I'll see if I can get it corrected.
Personally I just stick with the hexadecimal hardware IDs. Less ambiguous
Earlier in the thread there was some discussion of Skybox. Here's something on them and it is the first article I've seen that indicates that their resolution is 0.9 meters.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations: This morning, the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) with attached NRCSDs was returned by the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) to the JEM Airlock Slide Table and then brought back into the JEM Airlock.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations: Wakata pressurized the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock, performed a leak check, then opened the inner hatch to bring the Airlock slide table into the JEM. He then replaced the empty NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) on the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) with loaded new NRCSDs. Later in the afternoon, Wakata retracted the slide table with the loaded NRCSDs back into the Airlock and closed the inner hatch. Next week, the loaded NRCSDs will be extended out of the JEM Airlock to the exterior of the ISS. JAXA Flight Controllers will then utilize the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) in order to grapple the MPEP and maneuver it to the launch position. Seventeen CubeSats are scheduled to be launched next week.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations and Deploys: This morning, Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata depressurized the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock, opened the outer hatch and extended the slide table out to the JEM Exposed Facility (JEF) on the exterior of the ISS. JAXA Flight Controllers removed the 8 NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) from the slide table utilizing the JEM Remote Manipulator System (RMS) and moved them to their deploy position. Two Cubesats were then successfully launched from one of these NRCSDs. Later this week, 15 additional Cubesats will be launched from the remaining NRCSDs. CubeSat format satellites are launched from the ISS for a variety of commercial and national customers.
Our country Lithuania is heading towards a historic moment – start of the first Lithuanian satellite in space. First ever Lithuanian Cubesat Litsat1 is due to be launched within couple of days only – on Feb 28 at 07:30 UT from the International Space Station (ISS).
Eleven more satellites will be deployed in the next 2 days.
Quote from: anik on 02/27/2014 01:12 pmEleven more satellites will be deployed in the next 2 days.Wow! they are really popping them out fast! I was just a tiny bit skeptical when the daily report for Tuesday 25 said that all the 17 CubeSats would be deployed this week, but that seems to come through. In hindsight, it was not unlikely at all:Reason 1: The non-PlanetLabs CubeSats are presumably not deployment-time sensitive, so they can be popped out with short intervals.Reason 2: JAXA+NanoRacks team now know this system well enough that delays to troubleshoot/retry things are probably no longer needed.
I assume that the Peruvian 1U that was delivered on the recent Progress will have to wait, maybe until May? Or are they going to do a special deploy for it, perhaps.
It will be launched manually by cosmonauts during ISS Russian EVA-38 in August.
And two more must have been deployed sometime today - they have just been cataloged(snip)All the sats are in approx 409 x 416 km x 51.65 deg orbit.The first sat ejected, Flock 1-1/39512, has now decayed to 400 x 407 km.
Planet Labs @planetlabs · 28. feb. Big cheers at @planetlabs office today as we watch the final two of 28 Flock 1 satellites deployed from ISS! Flock 1 complete.
Laurynas Maciulis @orbitronas · 28. feb. Thank You @NanoRacks! Great job! @LituanicaSat is in space and we think it works!
Does that mean that the average altitude of the nanosats has decayed by ~11 km since deployment 18 days ago? Can we use that to estimate the orbital lifetimes?
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations: Four more CubeSats were successfully launched overnight by JAXA Robotic Flight Controllers from two NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs). The remaining 7 CubeSats will be deployed overnight. CubeSat format satellites are launched from the ISS for a variety of commercial and national customers.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations: Overnight the final 7 CubeSats were successfully launched by JAXA Robotic Flight Controllers from two NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs). Two Dove CubeSats and ArduSat-2, LitSat-1, LituanicaSat-1, UaPSat-1, and SkyCube CubeSats were launched. A total of 17 CubeSats have been deployed from the NRCSDs this week. The NRCSDs and Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) were then returned by the JEMRMS to the JEM Airlock Slide Table and brought back into the JEM. CubeSat format satellites are launched from the ISS for a variety of commercial and national customers.
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Closeout Operations: Today, Flight Engineer (FE) 6 Wakata and FE-3 Hopkins closed out the Nanorack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) operations. This morning the slide table was moved from the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock into the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM). Later, the crew removed the empty Nanoracks Cubesat Deployers (NRCSDs) and Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) from the slidetable and stowed them. The slidetable was moved back into the Airlock.
While the Planet Labs staff ate pancakes that morning in February, two shoebox-size nine-pound pods made in the company’s unconventional factory floated from the International Space Station toward a polar orbit of Earth. Ten hours later, two more were released.
There is an article in the new york times today about Planet Labs - it includes a nice video. Worth a read and a watch.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/technology/start-ups-aim-to-conquer-space-market.html?hp&_r=0Smallish error: QuoteWhile the Planet Labs staff ate pancakes that morning in February, two shoebox-size nine-pound pods made in the company’s unconventional factory floated from the International Space Station toward a polar orbit of Earth. Ten hours later, two more were released.
SAT-MOD-20150802-00053 E S2912Granted in Part/ Deferred in Part Effective Date: 06/15/2016Modification 06/15/2016 - 02/28/2029Planet Labs Inc.Nature of Service: Earth Exploration Satellite ServiceOn June 15, 2016, the Satellite Division granted in part and deferred in part, with conditions, the application of Planet Labs Inc. to modify itsauthorization to construct, deploy and operate a system of technically identical non-geostationary orbit Earth Exploration Satellite Servicesatellites. The Satellite Division deferred action on Planet Labs' request to include in its authorization satellites that are the subject of a Petitionto Deny by ORBCOMM. It also deferred action on transmissions of remote sensing and telemetry data to certain earth stations in the8025-8400 MHz frequency band. The Satellite Division otherwise granted Planet Labs' application. Specifically, Planet Labs was authorized toconstruct, deploy, and operate up to 600 technically identical NGSO EESS satellites in addition to those satellites already deployed and currentlyoperational. The satellites will be deployed at altitudes between 350 km and 660 km and will transmit remote sensing and telemetry data to fixedearth stations in the 8025-8400 MHz (space-to-Earth) frequency band, receive command signals in the 2025-2110 MHz (Earth-to-space)frequency band, and may use the 401-402 MHz (space-to-earth) and 449.75-450.25 MHz (Earth-to-space) frequency bands for early-phase andemergency-backup telemetry, tracking, and command operations, as well as for ranging and orbit determination on a non-emergency basisthroughout the mission lifetime.
CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENTNGA awards contract to Planet LabsSept. 12, 2016 SPRINGFIELD, Va. — The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarded a contract subscribing to imagery products and services provided by Planet Labs, Inc. of San Francisco, California. The contract allows the Department of Defense and intelligence community to access Planet Labs’ global imagery content, updated every fifteen days. The introductory contract includes a seven-month period of performance and the total value of the contract is $20,000,000. The effective date is Sept. 12, 2016. The global scope of coverage and high temporal frequency of collection from Planet labs will provide NGA with new data sources to support its many missions.
SAT-AMD-20171025-00144 E S2912Date Filed: 10/25/2017 18:49:46:46300Planet Labs Inc.Planet Labs Inc. amends its previously submitted request for modification of its authorization for an Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) system. IBFS File No. SAT-MOD-20170713-00103 (filed July 13, 2017). Specifically, Planet seeks to modify three of its authorized non-geostationary orbit satellites by removing the imaging camera and replacing it with a nano propulsion system to be used in a technology demonstration. The satellites will be deployed to orbital apogee altitudes of no greater than 550 kilometers with a 97.4 degree inclination...
Other than replacing the imaging camera with a propulsion system, the satellite is technically identical to the other Flock satellites. It shares the same design and manufacture of the structural, power, avionics, and communications aspects of the Flock satellites and shares the same associated earth stations for the uplink and downlink of space operations data and propulsion system performance data. There are no changes to the frequencies and concept of operations for each of the bands as proposed in the Modification.The nano propulsion system is known as Indium Field Emission Electric Propulsion. This propulsion system consists of a 250-gram cylinder of indium, associated heaters, ion generator mechanism, and beam neutralizer mechanism. Thrust is generated by the acceleration of ions via an applied electric field between an emitter crown and extractor electrode. The expected thrust is 350 micro-Newtons (uN), and there is a total of 5000 Newton-second total impulse capability for up to 1415 m/s velocity change for the 5 kg Dove Turbo satellite.
Planet Labs Inc. (Planet) respectfully requests to amend its previously submitted request to modify the authorization (Modification) for the Planet Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) system (FCC Call Sign S2912, a.k.a. “Flock”), as amended.1Specifically, Planet requests authority to:● Modify up to three (3) of its authorized satellites of the Flock constellation to add an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver system to the satellites to demonstrate the capability of the Planet Dove satellites to receive the AIS 1 (161.9625MHz – 161.9875MHz) and AIS 2 (162.0125MHz – 162.0375MHz) channels. Planet currently has planned only one satellite demonstration but requests additional authority in the event the planned satellite fails onorbit, fails to reach orbit, or additional demonstrations or testing become necessary.
Flock Red-X Private Remote Sensing License: Public SummaryOn October 11, 2017, the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office of the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, an agency of the Department of Commerce, granted a license to Planet Labs Inc.to operate a private, commercial, space-based, remote sensing system named Flock Red-X consistingof a launch of up to four satellites. These satellites are licensed to collect 6.4m resolution imagery of the Earthat an altitude of approximately 500km and an inclination of 97.4-degrees.
SWIFT Private Remote Sensing License: Public SummaryOn 12 April 2018, the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office of the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA CRSRA”), an agency of the Department ofCommerce, granted an amended license to Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”) to operate a private,commercial, space-based, remote sensing system consisting of up to 6 SWIFT satellites thatmake up the Planet SWIFT constellation. The SWIFT satellites are licensed to collect syntheticaperture radar imagery of the Earth’s surface and will operate at 350-650km altitude orbits.
Planet Announces More Spectral Bands, 50cm Resolution, Global Analytics, And Change DetectionOctober 15, 2019This morning at our Explore 19 conference, Planet co-founder and CEO Will Marshall unveiled the latest product announcements that customers can look forward to in the next year.Planet MonitoringWill announced new capabilities for Next-Generation PlanetScope, our flagship monitoring solution powered by the latest iteration of our Dove satellite called SuperDove. New sensors are enabling higher image quality with sharper, more vibrant colors and accurate surface reflectance values for advanced algorithms and time-series analysis.Next-Generation PlanetScope is interoperable with publicly available imagery, like Copernicus Sentinel-2, empowering customers to utilize PlanetScope data with other sensors to enhance their analyses with higher spatial and temporal resolution.Currently, PlanetScope imagery has four spectral bands (red, green, blue, and near-infrared). Next, Planet will add more spectral bands to enable new applications and use cases. On stage, Will discussed details about the Next Generation Planetscope, which includes 4-band, 5-band and 8-band PlanetScope imagery powered by SuperDove. Customers can get access to this new 4-band PlanetScope imagery as part of an Early Access Program later in 2019, with 5-band and 8-band imagery made available in early 2020.Planet Tasking – 50 cm SkySatWill saved the best for last and introduced Planet’s highest resolution yet: 50cm SkySat imagery.Planet is building this future capability by lowering the orbit of an existing SkySat and improving image processing to deliver 50 cm data. This new data will open up a wide array of applications in energy, mining, finance, and security, which require ultra-fine resolution to distinguish objects and features.Planet aims to make this 50 cm imagery available to customers in the first half of 2020.Planet Analytic FeedsPlanet’s Analytic Feeds are now generally available, allowing any customer to enhance their imagery products by adding Road Detection, Building Detection, or Vessel Detection Feeds. Planet Analytic Feeds use computer vision to automatically identify features of interest in Planet Basemaps and PlanetScope scenes.For beta release at the end of this year, Change Detection Feeds let customers automatically detect change at global scale and rapid frequency—an unmatched capability. Customers can efficiently locate where change has occurred to help focus where they spend their time, or to tip higher-resolution imagery, like SkySat, to get a closer look. Change Detection Feeds represent the next phase of our analytic capabilities, helping customers focus their resources on where change has recently occurred.
Oct. 15, 2019 NRO awards Planet contract as part of transition of commercial imagery acquisitionCHANTILLY, Va. – The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) today announced the transition of thePlanet commercial imagery subscription service from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)to the NRO.As part of the transition, the NRO awarded Planet an unclassified, multi-year subscription servicecontract for daily, large-area, 3-5 meter resolution commercial imagery collection.Recognizing the importance of mission continuity, the scope of the new NRO contract is comparable toNGA’s previous contracts with Planet and includes access to new daily unclassified imagery overmultiple areas of interest to military planners, warfighters, and the national security community.The transition is consistent with NGA’s and NRO’s role in exploring new and viable commercial GEOINTopportunities for national security missions.“With its large constellation of satellites, Planet can image country – and even continent-sized areas –every day,” said Pete Muend, director, NRO’s Commercial Systems Program Office. “This capability toprovide daily revisit over large areas of the Earth gives analysts unparalleled opportunities to discoverand monitor activity for a wide range of applications.”“The NRO is committed to ensuring NGA and its customers continue to have access to Planet imagery toperform the vital analysis needed to create value-added geospatial products for our partners and policymakers,” said Muend.“NGA’s 2016 Planet subscription played a role in our analytic transformation, where we are now focusedless on pixels and more on information content and services,” said David Gauthier, director of NGA’sSource Commercial and Business Operations Group.Gauthier said Planet imagery demonstrated the value that daily revisit of large areas, at 3-5 meterresolutions, to several mission areas – especially when combined with geospatial analytics.“With the transition, NGA can continue to shift its focus to emerging commercial GEOINT products andservices that uniquely support our user community,” said Gauthier.
Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”) respectfully requests authority to modify the authorization forPlanet’s SkySat Earth Exploration Satellite Service (“EESS”) system (FCC Call Sign S2862).Specifically, Planet requests authority to:● Modify the authorized orbital location for the SkySat-16 to SkySat-21 satellites to includethe inclination range 40° – 60° in addition to the currently authorized inclination range of97.0° – 97.9°; and● Modify the operational orbital altitude for SkySat-3 to include 400 km. ...SkySat-16 through SkySat-18 are intended to be launched as secondary payloads in April2020 on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, and SkySat-19 through SkySat-21 are intended to belaunched as secondary payloads in June 2020 on a subsequent Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The sixSkySats are expected to be deployed into a 190 km x 380 km elliptical orbit.
Pursuant to 15 C.F.R. §960.5(b), Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”) herein provides the following summary of the private remote sensing space system license issued on November 15, 2019, by the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the Department of Commerce. ...Planet is licensed to operate a private space-based high-resolution remote sensing system, consisting of two technology demonstration satellites. These satellites are licensed to collect Earth imagery with a best case resolution of 0.29 m GSD resolution from an orbital altitude between 250-550 km and an inclination of 40°-60° and 96°-99°.
Superproud to support yet another @planetlabs SuperDoves launch! With well over 200 Doves brought to orbit in our @isis_space #QuadPacks before, these 14 are now mounted on the #VEGA SSMS POC structure https://bit.ly/38uGXps
SAT-MOD-20191217-00148 E S2862Grant of Authority Effective Date: 03/16/2020ModificationPlanet Labs Inc.Nature of Service: Earth Exploration Satellite ServiceOn March 16, 2020, the Satellite Division granted, with conditions, for Planet Labs Inc.'s request to modify the authorization for its system to (1) modify the operational orbital altitude for the SkySat-3 satellite to include 400 km, and (2) modify the orbital location for SkySat-16 to SkySat-21 satellites to include the inclination range of 40.0 degrees to 60.0 degrees in addition to the currently authorized inclination range of 97.0 degrees and 97.9 degrees.
Microsoft Infrastructure Group, LLC (“Microsoft”) respectfully requests authority to operate two CGC 6.1-meterantennas in Quincy, Washington(“Quincy Earth Station”).1The Quincy Earth Station will communicate with Planet Labs Inc.’s (“Planet Labs”) FCC-authorized SKYSAT (Call Sign S2862) non-geostationary satellite orbit (“NGSO”)Earth Exploration Satellite Service (“EESS”) system.The Quincy Earth Station will enable Earth Observation (“EO”) customers to access Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing network and securely download and process EO data. With growing demand for EO services such as disaster prediction and tracking, increased visibility of supply chains and economic activity, and many others, granting the requested Quincy Earth Station license will serve the public interest by facilitating these critical services and paving the way for Microsoft to offer a new, advanced service for EO customers located throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. This application seeks authority to communicate with the Planet Labs SKYSAT satellite system. Microsoft may seek to add additional points of communication through future applications
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.Planet said it will merge with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV, a SPAC that raised $345 million in a public offering in March. The merger agreement includes an additional $200 million in a concurrent round, called private investment in public equity.After paying expenses and debt, the deal will provide Planet with $434 million in cash. It will give the San Francisco-based company at a post-transaction equity value of nearly $2.8 billion.
1)In 26 years of VC, I have invested in just two space companies, and today, I am SO proud to see Planet is going public!They are like the iPhone of satellites disrupting the mainframe incumbents and generating 10x the Earth imagery as all other companies combined. Memories:2)I first met the founders in the Black Rock Desert to launch their NASA PhoneSat in my friend’s rocket: I led the seed round in 2011 before they incorporated & became the first outside board member, then led the Series A too. Initial name was Cosmogia.3)We drove to the Stanford dish to download the first images from the first two “Doves” (satellites for peace and awareness). And then we put a tracking station on my roof in 2014.Planet quickly became the small sat leader, with 2x as many EO birds as everyone else combined.4)Some launch excitement: at Future Ventures we display a Planet satellite that survived this Antares launch explosion in 2014. Quite a robust little bird, she tweeted Yo! from the beach the next day. And Mission 1, with a record 88 satellites on board: https://bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-06-28/the-all-seeing-eye-in-the-sky-video5)In recent years, Planet has launched the majority of its satellites with SpaceX. Here’s the first meeting, with my Atlas vernier engine decorating the Planet HQ lobby (where it has been on loan for a decade as a good luck totem).Congrats again, for the good of the planet!
Schingler noted that the Pelican satellites will be smaller in size than the SkySat spacecraft, but “more dense” with a mass between 150 to 200 kilograms each.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced the completion of its previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”) with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (formerly NYSE: DMYQ) (“dMY IV”). The combined company has been renamed Planet Labs PBC and its shares and warrants will commence trading tomorrow, December 8th, 2021, on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “PL”.“The company’s rapidly growing and one-to-many data platform business is poised for tremendous growth as data becomes increasingly central to the global economy. With a strong leadership team in place and a growing market for data-driven insights, Planet is well-positioned to further scale the business and drive value for shareholders.”Tweet this“Today marks a huge milestone for Planet and our team, representing over a decade of hard work and dedication to using space to help life on earth,” said Planet co-founder and CEO Will Marshall. “Our listing on the NYSE and fully capitalized growth plan will enable us to accelerate our business and work with our partners towards creating a more sustainable and secure world.”“Planet is a true pioneer, delivering critical insights and solutions to some of the world’s most influential companies and governments,” said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of dMY Technology Group and a member of the combined company’s board of directors. “The company’s rapidly growing and one-to-many data platform business is poised for tremendous growth as data becomes increasingly central to the global economy. With a strong leadership team in place and a growing market for data-driven insights, Planet is well-positioned to further scale the business and drive value for shareholders.”In connection with the closing of the Business Combination, Planet received gross proceeds of over $590 million, including proceeds from the dMY IV trust account and the previously announced private placement (“PIPE”). The PIPE had participation from CPP Investments, Koch Strategic Platforms, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, and existing Planet investor, Google, among others. The capital will be used to fund Planet’s operations and support new and existing growth initiatives.The name Planet Labs PBC reflects the company’s status as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). Planet’s public benefit purpose is: “To accelerate humanity to a more sustainable, secure and prosperous world by illuminating environmental and social change.”Planet’s management team, led by CEO and co-founder Will Marshall, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder Robbie Schingler, CFO and COO Ashley Johnson, and President of Product and Business Kevin Weil, will continue to lead the public company following the Business Combination, as previously announced.After the closing of the Business Combination, the combined company’s Board of Directors will consist of seven members: Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler, Heidi Roizen, Niccolo de Masi, Vijaya Gadde, Carl Bass and Ita Brennan.
atellite imagery and data specialist Planet began trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the latest space company to debut after closing a SPAC deal.“We have a strong business that’s growing well ... and what’s been most exciting about this whole process of going public is that I think there’s increasing awareness of the data set that we’re generating from space and what impact it can have,” Planet CFO and COO Ashley Johnson told CNBC.Planet trades under the ticker PL, with shares previously listed under the special purpose acquisition company dMY Technology Group IV. The company has about 190 satellites in orbit, and recently unveiled plans for a new line of satellites called Pelican to further bolster its fleet.The stock rose 2% from its previous close of $10.81 a share.Closing its merger nets Planet more than $590 million in gross proceeds, with capital from dMY as well as a PIPE round – or private investment in public equity – led by BlackRock and joined by Google, Koch, and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures. After SPAC transaction fees and paying off debt, Johnson said Planet will have more than $500 million on its balance sheet.“We estimate that for operating capital we need about $200 million over the next few years until we get to cashflow breakeven, and so that gives us a sizable war chest to really think about strategic moves,” Johnson said.Johnson emphasized that Planet will use the remaining $300 million to take advantage of “consolidation in the industry or other opportunities that may present themselves.”Planet and dMY closed the merger with a 2% redemption ratio, which represents the percentage of shares that investors redeem prior to closing of an acquisition.
Third Quarter FY2022 Financial Highlights:Revenue increased 16% year-over-year to $31.7 million.Percent of Recurring Annual Contract Value (ACV) was 94%, compared to 93% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.End of Period (EoP) Customer Count increased 32% year-over-year to 742 customers.Gross Margin percentage expanded to 34%, compared to 27% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021. Non-GAAP Gross Margin percentage expanded to 35%, compared to 28% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.Net loss was $41.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA was ($12.3) million, driven by increased investments in R&D, sales and marketing and public company costs.
https://spacenews.com/planet-pelican-details/The replacement for SkySat-Pelican will offer at least 10 daily views of Earth’s land mass and as many as 30 views of midlatitude locations with a resolution of 30 centimeters per pixel.Ka-band inter-satellite data linksWill use other company's communication sat to relay data.Hall-effect thrusters
<snip>It was matter of time before observation satellites starting using likes of Starlink for downlink. Downlink has always been bottle neck for these satellites plus high cost of maintaining ground stations. In theory they can now download high definition video continuously. <snip>
https://investors.planet.com/news/news-details/2022/Planet-Reports-Financial-Results-for-First-Quarter-of-Fiscal-Year-2023/default.aspx2022Q1 Financial reportBusiness growing, but all costs (R&D, sell, admin) grow much faster than revenue, leads to much worse loss.https://investors.planet.com/news/news-details/2022/Planet-and-Bayer-Expand-Strategic-Relationship/default.aspxA new customer for agriculture.
Quote from: XRZ.YZ on 06/14/2022 10:49 pmhttps://investors.planet.com/news/news-details/2022/Planet-Reports-Financial-Results-for-First-Quarter-of-Fiscal-Year-2023/default.aspx2022Q1 Financial reportBusiness growing, but all costs (R&D, sell, admin) grow much faster than revenue, leads to much worse loss.https://investors.planet.com/news/news-details/2022/Planet-and-Bayer-Expand-Strategic-Relationship/default.aspxA new customer for agriculture.Their revenue maybe growing but not as fast as expenses. R&D, Sales &Market, Admin these have all double in since 4th quarter of 2021. R&D I can understand but the others?. Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk