SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 4, 2026--
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today released its first light image from Pelican-12, an updated second generation (Gen 2) high-resolution Pelican™ satellite, captured over Luanda, the capital city of Angola. The image was taken on October 30, 2026, from an altitude of approximately 589 km, following Pelican-12’s launch aboard SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As the spacecraft completes its instrument calibration process and approaches its final operational orbit, image quality is expected to further improve.
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Pelican-12 is Planet’s 25th satellite brought to orbit this year across four successful launches, showcasing the speed, innovation, and consistency of Planet’s agile aerospace approach. Planet’s rapid and robust production capabilities, bolstered by the recent opening of its new Berlin manufacturing facility, make it the clear choice for customers seeking sovereign satellite and dedicated access capacity. This reduced time-to-value made Planet the clear choice for the governments of Japan, Sweden, and Germany to entrust with building their proprietary satellite capabilities.
Pelican-12 is Planet’s first 30 cm class capable satellite, and carries the NVIDIA Jetson platform for onboard edge compute. The spacecraft will initially deliver 50 cm class imagery, and is designed to capture 30 cm class imagery after being lowered to its operational altitude.
Pelican-12 is also designed to assess new technologies ahead of their implementation on future Planet spacecraft. Pelican-12 carries a technology demonstration of a new communications package that is designed to enable reduced latency of data delivery.
“This crisp first image tells us that Pelican-12 is healthy and performing well after launch,” said James Mason, Chief Space Officer at Planet. “Each new Pelican we launch gives us lessons for the next build. For example, the updated payload and communication systems on Pelican-12 are informed by Pelican-11, our engineering pathfinder launched in July. With additional Pelican launches planned for 2027, we’re continuing to build out this advanced, AI-enabled constellation to keep pace with rising demand for high-resolution data.”
With the official opening of Planet’s Berlin manufacturing facility in September, and further Pelican missions scheduled for 2027, Planet is continuing to grow its high-resolution capacity and Satellite Services offerings to meet customer demand. To learn more about Planet's Pelican constellations and capabilities, visit https://www.planet.com/constellations/pelican/.
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 commercial Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to 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. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on X, LinkedIn, or tune in to HBO’s ‘Wild Wild Space’.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements” about Planet within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about the expansion of the high resolution capacity of Planet’s fleet, the delivery of such capacity to Planet customers, and the Company’s ability to realize any of the potential benefits from product and satellite launches, either as designed, within the expected time frame, in a cost-effective manner, or at all. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements, including risks related to the macroeconomic environment. Such factors are detailed in Planet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Planet does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.
Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport, Luanda, Angola • October 30, 2026 • Altitude: 589 km • Pelican-12
Luanda, Angola • October 30, 2026 • Altitude: 589 km • Pelican-12
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks triggered power and water outages for hours Wednesday across Kyiv and surrounding regions while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the death toll in a stricken village in southern Ukraine rose to 40 in one of the deadliest strikes there in nearly five years of war.
On Monday, multiple Russian guided bombs slammed into a former school and nearby shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha, near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region, as residents waited for humanitarian aid.
In addition to those killed, Zelenskyy said 30 more people could still be buried in the rubble.
“Unfortunately, there has been very little reaction from the world to this insane attack," he said in a post on X. "But it, like thousands upon thousands of other war crimes Russia has committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians, demands a strong response. Evil always goes further if it is left unanswered.”
Elsewhere, Moscow showed no signs of letting up its aerial assaults.
Before water and power were restored, residents in the capital of Kyiv were urged to use public drinking water fountains. Emergency centers were set up hastily in the worst-hit areas, offering hot tea and power for people seeking to charge electrical devices.
Russia attacked overnight with 310 drones, including 81 jet-powered drones, according to Ukraine’s air force. In its daily social media report, the air force said it downed or suppressed 272 drones of various types.
Such attacks are a regular feature of wartime life in Ukraine despite arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in 2024 for two senior Russian officers whom prosecutors accuse of overseeing strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Officials from the United States, Germany, France, Britain, NATO, the World Bank and the European Union met Wednesday at the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels to discuss the massive reconstruction effort that will be required once the war ends.
The commission said in a brief statement after the closed-door meeting that it “focused on refining the scenarios for Ukraine’s postwar economic development and prosperity.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she wanted the meeting to discuss European demands for Russian concessions in any negotiations. She said previous talks have been focused only on “what Ukraine should give away or what concessions they should make.”
The Brussels talks came ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations next week, more than 4 1/2 years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Russian drones were hampering the search for victims in the village of Komyshuvakha, said Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the regional military administration, but he added that operations there would continue.
Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the regional defense council, said 12 bodies pulled from the rubble had been identified so far. The National Police of Ukraine said in a Telegram post that visual identification of some bodies was not possible and that specialists were working with relatives of the dead to collect DNA samples.
Body camera footage recovered from a police officer killed in the attack shows the devastating impact of the Russian guided bomb. The video was recorded Monday as the officer descended stairs into the shelter after the nearby aid distribution center was struck.
In the video, the officer speaks to survivors of the initial attack, urging them to seek shelter. “Go down! Why are you gathering here?” he is heard saying.
Moments after the officer enters a low-ceilinged underground room, a brief rumble is heard as the video cuts to black.
On Tuesday, Baptist pastor Vladyslav Makhovskyi joined the search for survivors. But as the day wore on, bodies wrapped in white plastic sheets were carried from the ruins and laid in rows as smoke drifted across the shattered landscape.
“When the bombs hit, people could no longer get out," Makhovskyi told The Associated Press. “I understand that many were killed immediately. Even if some were still alive, they probably couldn’t breathe."
The attack followed the end of a six-day ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the southwestern Ukrainian region of Kherson. It was the most significant truce between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, and allowed the evacuation of residents from the shattered city.
Zelenskyy awarded U.S. first lady Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class — an honor for women who have made an outstanding contribution to the Ukrainian state.
She was recognized for her humanitarian support, including human rights and charitable activities aimed at helping Ukrainian children, according to the presidential website.
She was credited with brokering the ceasefire to allow those trapped in Oleshky to leave.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, expressed hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will continue his efforts to end the war in Ukraine regardless of the outcome of the midterm elections that saw Democrats take control of Congress, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine said Wednesday it had uncovered a criminal plot involving senior officials from the country’s security service, prosecutor general’s office and national police who were alleged to have taken kickbacks from the criminal underworld in exchange for protecting fraudulent call centers, drug sales and illegal cigarette and currency operations.
It was the latest in a series of graft scandals that have plagued Zelenskyy's presidency.
In September, former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned after investigators accused one of his subordinates of running a scheme linked to fraudulent call centers.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that it shot down 709 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The major online retailer Ozon said that a drone attack caused a fire to break out at its logistics center in Adygeysk, in Russia’s Adygea region, but that there were no casualties.
Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writers Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv, Elise Morton in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.
People walk past a billboard which features Russian soldiers from the World War II and the current military action in Ukraine, which reads 'Each era has its own heroes', in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a speech at the Berlin Security Conference in Berlin, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A damaged residential building is seen after a Russian air attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo)
An underground school lies destroyed after a Russian airstrike in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo)
Rescuers carry a body of a person killed by a Russian airstrike on underground school of Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
