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This fall, Planet is scheduled to open the doors on our satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin, adding a major new capability to the engineering, mission operations, data, and business functions already based here. It will bring manufacturing to Planet’s European operations for the first time and mark the latest chapter in a story that began in Germany more than a decade ago.

Built on More Than a Decade in Germany

Planet’s roots in Germany date back to 2015 with the acquisition of RapidEye, the German Earth observation company that built and operated its own satellite constellation from Brandenburg. Since then, Planet Labs Germany has grown into the center of our European operations, with long-standing relationships across Germany’s public sector, research community, and industries.

Our European Operations in Berlin

Over the past decade, Berlin has become the center of Planet’s European operations. Today, our Berlin operations bring together engineering, mission operations, data, and business teams in one location.

Berlin gives us access to deep technical talent, leading research institutions, and a growing commercial space ecosystem. We have built a multidisciplinary team of more than 150 people here, with plans to create around 70 additional roles through 2027.

Adding satellite manufacturing is a natural next step. Building Pelican satellites in Berlin will expand what we can do in Europe, from developing and operating satellites to processing data and delivering intelligence to customers. It also adds meaningful industrial capacity in Germany and strengthens Europe’s ability to rely on capabilities based here.

Having grown up in Germany, lived in the U.S. for six years, and spent my entire career working across the Atlantic, this is especially meaningful to me. Planet has always combined speed and ambition with deep technical expertise. Being able to build more of that capability here in Germany, as part of our European operations, feels especially important.

What Our European Capabilities Enable

The real value of Planet’s European capabilities lies in what we enable for customers, public institutions, and partners across Germany and Europe. Planet works with public institutions, researchers, and companies across Germany to turn frequent Earth observation into better decisions — from forests and agriculture to infrastructure, environmental change, and security.

Our long-standing public-sector partners include the German Space Agency at DLR, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). Through BKG, Planet data is used across more than 400 government institutions, giving decision-makers a current and objective view of change across Germany.

Our latest work with BKG takes this a significant step further. Germany is moving beyond simply purchasing satellite imagery toward having exclusive access to a commercial constellation capability configured around its needs, together with platform infrastructure operated in Europe. To me, this is an important evolution in how governments can use commercial space infrastructure: gaining faster access and greater control without having to own every part of the system themselves.

The same ecosystem extends into industry, where technology providers, analytics companies, and industrial users build geospatial analytics and AI applications on Planet data across agriculture, environmental monitoring, infrastructure, and other operational use cases.

Supporting all of this requires infrastructure that is close to our European customers. Our ground stations across Germany, the UK, Iceland, and Norway bring down a substantial share of Planet’s global data, while our European operations support the processing and delivery of that information to customers.

For me, this is also where the discussion about European sovereignty becomes concrete. Sovereignty is not simply about where a satellite is built. It is about combining capability with meaningful control — over operations, data, and the infrastructure needed to act independently when it matters.

Building for the Long Term

Adding satellite manufacturing to our European operations is not an endpoint. It is the next step in a long-term commitment to build more of Planet’s capabilities in Europe, alongside the customers, partners, and institutions that have shaped our presence here for more than a decade.

As we begin Pelican manufacturing, grow our Berlin team, and continue expanding the capabilities based here, I am excited about what comes next. Germany is where Planet has built deep roots over the past decade, and where we are now building an important part of our future.

Learn more about our growth on Planet’s website.