Tech

Feast your Eyes on SkySats 16-18 First Light

Tech

Last month, Planet launched three high resolution satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket – SkySats 16-18 – the first of two launches delivering six more SkySats to orbit. We’re excited to share first light imagery from these recently launched SkySats, delivering 50 cm spatial resolution!  The low launch insertion orbit by the […]

Planet Partners with SpaceNet for Multi-Temporal Urban Development Challenge

Tech

We’re excited to partner with SpaceNet LLC, a nonprofit focused on machine learning techniques for geospatial applications, to support the SpaceNet7 Multi-Temporal Urban Development Challenge which was just recently announced. The challenge focuses on developing better methods to track building construction over time using Planet imagery mosaics. Rapid and accurate remote-sensing of […]

How Satellite Data Can Help Create Smarter, Greener Cities

Tech

As announced earlier this year, Planet is once again partnering with Copernicus Masters, Europe’s leading innovation competition, to sponsor the See Change, Change the World challenge. The goal of the challenge is to find innovators interested in using Planet and Copernicus data to discover creative solutions to some of the world’s most […]

How Satellite Data Can Help with COVID-19 and Beyond

Tech

In a world turned upside-down by the global COVID-19 pandemic, we at Planet are regularly asked how daily satellite monitoring of the Earth might be helpful. We’d like to share some perspective with you about the role satellite imagery and analytics can play in responding to disease outbreaks in general, and to […]

How Swift Geospatial is Creating Positive Change in Forest Management

Tech

Today is the International Day of Forests, created by the United Nations to help raise awareness about how forests can help humans generate environmental sustainability, create food security and produce thriving economies. Forests are also known for their carbon-capturing abilities and are one of our best defenses against the threat of climate […]

Rocket Launch Trends Roaring into the 2020s

Tech

It’s never been easier to launch satellites into space, and things are only getting better for satellite operators. A multitude of launch vehicles and orbits are available to satellite missions ranging from Kickstarter-funded garage efforts to serious commercial endeavours. Today, we’re recapping some of the most important launch trends of the last […]

The End of a Decade: The Start of a New Space Era

Tech

Over the last decade, we’ve entered the era of the “Space Renaissance,” a rebirth of space activities that are accelerating innovation. Agile aerospace—a philosophy of spacecraft development that encourages rapid iteration—was largely just a thought-kernel in the minds of aerospace experts 10 years ago, and now it’s an ideal that many in […]

Quarterly Product Release Roundup: Integrations, Planet Explorer and More

Tech

It’s been a banner year for product releases, from Planet Basemap updates to Next-Generation PlanetScope to Planet Analytic Feeds. Big releases are great, but just like holiday stocking stuffers, it’s sometimes the smaller things that people love most. We wanted to highlight a few recent releases that may appear simple, but are […]

Planet Releases Boundless Staccato and Stratus Under Open Source License

Tech

Planet acquired St. Louis-based geospatial software solutions company Boundless earlier this year, and today we are excited to announce that we are open-sourcing two key Boundless code bases, freeing the projects to evolve with their communities. The first of these is Staccato, a Java-based catalog that implements the SpatioTemporal Asset  Catalog (STAC) […]

Scientists Use Planet Data to Examine Cause of Palu Valley Landslides

Tech

On September 28, 2018, a destructive magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The strength and stiffness of the soil decreased dramatically due to the shaking of the great quake, turning it from a solid to a liquid in one of the most dramatic soil liquefaction events ever recorded, leading to destructive […]