Three AI-Enabled High-Resolution Imaging Satellites Expand Sovereign Intelligence Network
SpaceX Rideshare Delivers First Pelican for Swedish Armed Forces Under Nine-Figure Contract
Three high-resolution Earth-imaging satellites — including the first spacecraft delivered to Sweden under a nine-figure government defense contract — have been successfully launched to orbit by Planet Labs PBC. The spacecraft lifted off aboard a SpaceX CAS500-2 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, bringing Planet’s operational Pelican fleet to nine satellites.
“Kicking off our first Pelican launch of 2026 demonstrates the pace at which we’re scaling our most advanced constellation to date.”
Will Marshall, Planet Labs
The three satellites represent Planet’s first launches of 2026, building on the five Pelicans sent to orbit during 2025. Planet reported successful initial contact with all three spacecraft and has begun the commissioning process.
“Kicking off our first Pelican launch of 2026 demonstrates the pace at which we’re scaling our most advanced constellation to date, with higher resolution, faster repeat rates, and lower latency,” said Will Marshall, co-founder and CEO of Planet Labs.
One satellite is the first to launch under Planet’s multi-year agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF), signed in January 2026. The low nine-figure contract — valued at over $100 million — gives Sweden sovereign ownership of a dedicated suite of Planet satellites and access to high-resolution imagery and intelligence solutions. The Swedish agreement is Planet’s third satellite services contract signed within 12 months, following similar arrangements with Japan’s SKY Perfect JSAT and Germany that collectively exceed half a billion dollars.
Each new spacecraft is a Gen 1 Pelican capturing 50-centimeter (~20-inch) class imagery across six multispectral bands. All three carry NVIDIA’s Jetson AI platform for on-orbit edge computing, which Planet has already demonstrated on Pelican-4 with successful AI-driven, near real-time object detection completed within minutes of imagery capture.
Planet plans to launch additional Gen 1 Pelicans and the first second-generation (Gen 2) satellites later in 2026, which are designed to deliver up to 30-centimeter (~12-inch) class resolution.