Pelican / eo constellation
sourcingtypical 4/5 · 13 factsPelican is a commercial Earth observation satellite constellation developed by Planet Labs (USA) as the successor to the SkySat system. Its mission is to provide very high-resolution optical imagery with significantly improved revisit rates compared to earlier commercial constellations, supporting applications such as agriculture, forestry, urban planning and emergency management. Each satellite carries the Pelican Imager, a pushbroom radiometer operating across five spectral bands in the visible to near-infrared range, and the constellation is planned to replace and expand upon Planet's existing fleet of 19 SkySat satellites in orbit.
key details
faq
Who operates Pelican?
Pelican is operated by Planet. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
How many Pelican satellites are active on orbit?
CelesTrak's catalog currently tracks 9 objects for Pelican. (source, as of 2026-09-08)
When did Pelican first launch?
Pelican first launched on 2023-11-11. (source, as of 2026-07-05)
imaging modes
facts
sats active (verified) counts objects currently tracked in CelesTrak's catalog for this constellation. It is a tracking count, not an operator claim about satellite health.
orbit
events
- notable2026-09-03Planet signs 7-figure deal with European defense and intelligence customer
- notable2026-09-03Planet Labs posts record revenue and first adjusted profit
- notable2026-08-17HEO taps Planet's SkySats to expand its space-object imaging network
- notable2026-08-12Nova Systems and Planet partner on space intelligence for Australian defense
- notable2026-08-10Planet launches national satellite data program with Rwanda
- notable2026-07-30Planet Labs wins Scottish government contract for farmland monitoring
- noise2026-07-07Planet launches Pelican-11 tech demo satellite on Transporter-17
- notable2026-07-06Planet Labs adds Wolfgang Schmidt, ex-German Chancellery head, to European board
- notable2026-07-02Isar Aerospace to launch Planet's first German-built satellite mission
- noise2026-06-05Planet Labs sets up $1.5 billion at-the-market equity offering program
timeline
- 20252025-12Pelican constellation enters general availability for tasked imagery (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 2025-07Planet awarded 240 million euro German government contract for Pelican capacity (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 2025-01-29Planet signs $230 million Pelican agreement with Asia-Pacific commercial partner (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 2025-01-14Planet launches Pelican-2 on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 20232023-11-11Planet launches Pelican-1 on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg (source, as of 2026-07-12)
- 20222022-04-21Planet unveils Pelican, a 32-satellite successor to SkySat (source, as of 2026-07-12)
sources
Includes data from Gunter's Space Page: doc_sdat/pelican.htm