SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), a leading provider of daily Earth data and insights, announced today that its first hyperspectral satellite, Tanager-1—made possible by the Carbon Mapper Coalition and its philanthropic partners—is ready for launch. The spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 3rd in preparation for liftoff as early as July on board the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with SpaceX. Tanager-1 will be the first of a next-generation hyperspectral fleet which will expand Planet’s imaging capabilities in the spectral domain to complement the existing imaging capabilities in the temporal and spatial domains offered by the PlanetScope, SkySat, and Pelican missions.

Following on-orbit commissioning, Tanager-1 is planned to provide hyperspectral data both in support of the continued partnership with nonprofit organization Carbon Mapper and Planet’s broader commercial mission. Tanager-1 was enabled by the Carbon Mapper satellite program, which allowed Planet to combine its cutting-edge agile aerospace and smallsat bus technology with the state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer design developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This collaboration plans to provide scientific-grade data to enable action on sustainability use cases such as greenhouse gas point-source emissions.

“This important collaboration with Planet and Carbon Mapper is an innovative way to confront Earth’s most urgent climate challenges head-on,” said Laurie Leshin, Director of NASA JPL. “Our imaging spectrometer technology and expertise, leveraged and deployed on Tanager-1, will enable a broad range of stakeholders to pinpoint methane super-emitters and take action to mitigate them. The work of the Carbon Mapper Coalition will truly have a global impact, and we are proud to take part in ensuring mission success.”

Future Tanager imagery will be analyzed by expert scientists at Carbon Mapper to identify methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) "super-emitters" around the world. Planet expects to provide commercial hyperspectral data for a variety of use cases including emissions monitoring, biodiversity assessments, vegetation analysis, minerals mapping, and water contaminant assessments.

“I’m thrilled that Tanager has arrived at the launch site. This will provide hyperspectral data that will enable myriad applications from sustainability to security, and complement the data from existing Planet satellite fleets,” said Will Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO of Planet. “I am very proud to be a part of this unique public-private partnership with NASA JPL and Carbon Mapper.”

Planet’s hyperspectral constellation is designed to provide imagery with continuous spectral information across the visible and shortwave infrared (VSWIR) regions. Tanager’s imaging spectrometer leverages JPL’s heritage in imaging spectrometer design and development through decades of similar airborne and spaceborne sensors like the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT). The Tanager-1 imaging spectrometer will be the most complex optical system ever launched by Planet, and its delivery to the launch site demonstrates a host of new capabilities, expertise, facilities, and testing acumen at Planet.

In recent months, the integrated Tanager-1 spacecraft successfully completed a rigorous series of on-the-ground tests designed to ensure that the integrated satellite can withstand the harsh environments that it will endure at launch and in orbit. Pelican-1, a technology demonstration that successfully launched late last year, shares the same smallsat bus platform with Tanager-1. Together, the successful on-the-ground and in-orbit tests have proven Planet’s agile aerospace approach as applied to the larger and more complicated spacecraft that utilize this next-generation smallsat bus.

“Shipping the first Tanager satellite is an enormous step in realizing the vision of our unique public-private partnership with Carbon Mapper and NASA JPL,” said Mark Keremedjiev, Tanager Mission Director at Planet. “This milestone in our program is a shared achievement across a wide range of contributors and I am exceptionally proud of the team that has brought us to this point. I am excited to see the data our system will produce on-orbit and look forward to tackling the host of challenges spaceborne hyperspectral remote sensing is suited to address.”

In addition to Tanager-1, Planet will be launching 35 SuperDoves that will contribute to Planet’s flagship daily, global monitoring mission. PlanetScope data is used by hundreds of customers in defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial markets to take informed action, and better contextualize events they’re seeing on the ground today. Planet’s daily scan and deep archive of data for every point on Earth is unique within the industry and provides customers with a continuous and complete view of their areas of interest. Further, the archive acts as a rich training ground for predictive machine-learning and advanced artificial-intelligence models, accelerating users’ ability to draw insights from the terabytes of data collected by Planet each day.

Planet is committed to delivering best-in-class data and services to its customers. The launch of Tanager-1 helps further the company’s mission of making change visible, accessible, and actionable.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 1,000 customers, comprising the world’s leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet is a public benefit corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange as PL.

About Carbon Mapper Inc

Carbon Mapper is a nonprofit based in Pasadena, CA with the mission to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions by making methane and carbon dioxide data accessible and actionable. Carbon Mapper is focused on filling gaps in the emerging ecosystem of methane and CO2 monitoring systems by delivering data at facility scale that is precise, timely, and accessible to empower science-based decision making and action. The organization leads a public-private partnership including Planet Labs, PBC and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory among others focused on developing and deploying a constellation of satellites capable of detecting, quantifying, and verifying methane emissions worldwide. Data from these satellites will offer the next major step in scaling up the thousands of methane plumes and CO2 plumes already publicly available on the Carbon Mapper data portal.

Source: Planet Labs

Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies, and The Exploration Company, builder and operator of the Nyx reusable space capsule, signed a cargo services agreement for a 2028 mission to Vast’s second Haven space station. Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt) and Bale Dalton, NASA Chief of Staff, attended the signing event along with Max Haot, Chief Executive Officer of Vast, and Helene Huby, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the The Exploration Company.

The Exploration Company’s Nyx cargo vehicle can carry upwards of 4,000 kilograms to Vast’s second Haven space station. Nyx can also return upwards of 2,600 kilograms of payload (down-mass) from the space station safely back to Earth. The new cargo agreement between Vast and The Exploration Company expands cooperation in human spaceflight between the American and European space industries, enabling a research-based economy in LEO. The contract reaffirms The Exploration Company’s technological leadership, demonstrating it can competitively serve the cargo needs of future commercial space stations.

Vast builds commercial in-space habitation, research, and manufacturing facilities to serve NASA, ESA, DLR, and other government space agencies around the globe, driving demand for affordable and sustainable space transportation to LEO.

Max Haot, CEO at Vast: “Vast is excited to partner with The Exploration Company as we strengthen our collaboration with European industry and enable human space exploration with ESA member space agencies such as DLR. We are building strong ties with the European space ecosystem and Nyx is an excellent solution for our space station cargo needs.”

Helene Huby, CEO and Founder of the Exploration Company: “We are grateful for the trust Vast is placing in our Nyx cargo system. We are excited to support future Haven commercial space station operations as Vast fields a replacement to the International Space Station before the end of the decade. I am proud of our team for continuously delivering on our promises, unleashing its talent, and strengthening the credibility of not only The Exploration Company, but Europe’s space industry.”

About The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company’s mission is to build accessible, sustainable, and cooperative space worlds. To realize this mission, The Exploration Company builds and operates ‘Nyx’, a modular and reusable space capsule. Nyx provides a wide scope of missions ranging from resupplying space stations around the Earth and the Moon, free flying around the Earth or landing on the Moon - and safely coming back to Earth. Nyx starts with flying cargo to space stations around the Earth and has the potential to carry humans.

About Vast

Vast is a pioneer in space habitation technologies focused on expanding humanity across the solar system. Founded in 2021, the company is building Haven-1, the world’s first private space station slated to launch no earlier than August 2025. Vast is developing their future Haven space station to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. Vast’s long term goal is to build low-cost artificial gravity crewed stations so people can live and work in space for long periods of time without the adverse effects of zero-gravity.

Source: Vast

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO), Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR), and European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the goal of introducing a range of innovative global satellite-based surveillance services to the air traffic management (ATM) industry and broader aviation market. These services will be powered by a specialized constellation of over 100 satellites collecting Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) messages broadcast from aircraft and transmitting the data back to Earth in real time.

Spire will develop the space segment, including system design, building the satellites and payloads, ground control and data collection. Thales will provision the ground air traffic management system and the service supervision infrastructure. ESSP will manage the certification and the delivery of the service for air traffic surveillance purposes and perform H24 operation and supervision, ensuring the compliance with real-time, safety-critical requirements imposed to ATC. The partners will also rely on the Space Alliance* formed by Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, to identify and implement possible synergies bringing further added value in terms of key-enabling technologies, secured network optimization and sustainable operations and services. The partners plan to certify, commercialize and start the operation of the service by 2027.

“The birth of a satellite constellation fully dedicated to serving the demanding needs of air traffic management, air domain awareness and national security is a groundbreaking development for the aviation industry,” said Philip Plantholt, general manager of Aviation at Spire. “Through our strategic partnership with Thales and ESSP, we are poised to offer the first real alternative to the aging systems that exist today and embark on a journey towards even more advanced space-based solutions for aviation in the years to come.”

“This innovative satellite-based surveillance service will accelerate the implementation of our new ‘Air Traffic Control as a service’ offering,” said Christian Rivierre, vice president, Airspace Mobility Solutions, Thales. “It will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the skies, serving as a vital facilitator for trajectory-based operations and laying the foundation for a safer, more environmentally friendly, and cost-efficient ATM system. Additionally, this new solution will also draw on the competences of Thales Alenia Space satellite-based surveillance systems.”

Charlotte Neyret, chief executive officer of ESSP, said: “Taking the best of three worlds: Space Systems, ATC Systems and ATC Service Provision, is a game-changer for the aviation industry, providing the most valuable solution based on advanced new technologies. Our service is developed driven by users’ needs and expectations to face new service-levels, the challenge of ATC digitization and to support greener and more sustainable air travel. We will provide the full range of ESSP’s Space-based CNS expertise to implement and to operate mission-critical services to ensure the highest quality of service to all aviation stakeholders.”

The aviation industry faces critical challenges, with safety, security and achieving climate impact neutrality emerging as top priorities. These challenges have placed significant strain on ATM, particularly due to the absence of a surveillance solution that is high performing, scalable, and economically viable.

The initiative will rely on Thales’s global stature in ATM, built upon more than 50 years of terrestrial surveillance experience and the longstanding space technological background of Thales Alenia Space as a world space leader in telecommunications, earth observation, exploration and navigation. With over 175 satellites launched into orbit and nearly a decade of expertise in developing and operating ADS-B payloads, Spire holds a unique position within the New Space technology landscape. The approach is bolstered by ESSP’s credentials as a certified space-based Navigation and Communication service provider, the consortium possesses the ideal resources to tackle these ambitious objectives.

The new end-to-end system will meet the rigorous requirements, including latency, coverage and revisit standards, set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and aviation authorities to be certified for air traffic surveillance. The constellation’s satellites are designed to be replenished every five years, ensuring the system offers the latest and most advanced technology. This evolutionary roadmap approach ensures that end users’ operational needs are consistently met with the latest advancements.

In parallel to building the initial constellation, the companies will design and demonstrate a system that goes beyond ADS-B to geolocate the position of aircraft in real time, without relying on GNSS/GPS satellites. This novel system will provide a resilient solution for tracking aircraft that cannot be impacted by vulnerabilities with GNSS/GPS such as interference or outages. The expected follow-on of a successful demonstration will be the commercialization of a second generation, highly resilient service — opening the door to holistic infrastructure optimization strategies for ANSPs by the end of the coming decade.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies specialized in three business domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Cybersecurity & Digital identity.It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key innovation areas such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, cloud technologies and 6G.Thales has close to 81 0001 employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.

About Spire Global, Inc.

Spire (NYSE: SPIR) is a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, offering unique datasets and powerful insights about Earth so that organizations can make decisions with confidence in a rapidly changing world. Spire builds, owns, and operates a fully deployed satellite constellation that observes the Earth in real time using radio frequency technology. The data acquired by Spire’s satellites provides global weather intelligence, ship and plane movements, and spoofing and jamming detection to better predict how their patterns impact economies, global security, business operations and the environment. Spire also offers Space as a Service solutions that empower customers to leverage its established infrastructure to put their business in space. Spire has nine offices across the U.S., Canada, UK, Luxembourg, Germany and Singapore.

About ESSP

ESSP SAS (European Satellite Services Provider) is a company owned by 7 keys European ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers). ESSP’s core business is the provision of space-based Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) services. As multi-service CNS provider, we operate complex space-based systems and deliver critical services under strict regulation conditions. ESSP, is the sole private company certified by EASA in Navigation and Communication satellite-based service provision. Our mission is to boost the potential of space-based technologies in critical operations, offering safe and secure services for greener and more connected worlds. We enable satellite technologies to power today’s transport solutions around the world, providing essential 24/7 services to air navigation service providers and airspace users. ESSP offers specific engineering expertise including performance and network management of the latest space-based technologies such as but not limited to: GNSS for Navigation, Datalink for Communications and ADS-B technology in Surveillance.

Source: Spire Global

At ILA Berlin, ESA and Vast signed a Memorandum of Understanding for future Vast space stations. The agreement outlines the parties’ intention to foster human spaceflight, science, technology and commercialization development and explore collaboration in low Earth orbit destinations other than the International Space Station.

The collaboration will initially focus on exploring opportunities for access to space for Europe through the Vast Space Stations. These could include:

• Access to the Vast Space Stations for ESA and its Member States, for astronaut missions and research activities as well as commercial business development.
• Supporting European industry to supply subsystems and equipment for future Vast Space Stations.
• Vast making use of future qualified European LEO cargo and/or crew transportation services, at market rates and commercially viable terms and conditions, also as a means for offsetting future ESA Astronaut Missions.
• Vast and ESA jointly supporting European industry in getting certified for docking to future Vast Space Stations.

European astronauts have been going to the International Space Station for over 20 years, offering European scientists access to a weightless environment via ESA’s Columbus laboratory.

The signed memorandum of understanding reflects ESA’s ambition for a smooth and efficient transition from the International Space Station towards sustained exploitation of human and robotic infrastructures in low Earth orbit after 2030, including through commercial services. “Today ESA has further proven its determination to play a crucial role into the further development of the LEO economy in space for Europe and European citizens,” explained ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, “This signature underlines once again ESA’s ambition to modernise itself and to meet the demands of the next era of the space economy,”. He added “Our teams are looking forward to working closely with VAST teams to ensure the European interests and our collective role in space exploration.”

“Vast is building Haven-1 with European technology to enable ESA astronaut missions starting in 2026. Today’s signature is the first step to providing ESA and its member states with access to space for research and science to benefit life here on Earth,” said Max Haot, CEO of Vast.

About Vast

Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies, was founded in 2021 to expand humanity across the solar system with artificial gravity crewed space stations. Vast’s first station, Haven-1, is launching no earlier than 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 and is expected to be the world’s first commercial space station. The first crewed expedition, Vast-1, will visit Haven-1 in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for up to 30 days. Haven-1 provides commercial and government customers with payload opportunities for science, research, and in-space manufacturing. Additionally, the team will perform a Lunar artificial gravity demonstration on Haven-1. Vast is headquartered in Long Beach, California.

Source: Vast / ESA