Planet Labs Launches New Pelican-12 Satellite

The spacecraft will test advanced edge computing capabilities and data relay systems while in orbit.

Updated on Oct. 20, 2026 in Space

Planet Labs Launches New Pelican-12 Satellite

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Planet Labs has successfully launched its latest Pelican-12 satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission serves as a critical test for new operational architectures and integrated communication packages.

Why it matters

The mission bridges the gap between initial prototype testing and full-scale fleet deployment for Planet Labs. It validates hardware capable of on-orbit AI inferencing, which could revolutionize how Earth-observation data is processed.

The Pelican-12 satellite integrates an NVIDIA Jetson module to execute on-orbit artificial intelligence inferencing tasks. This launch marks the fifth Pelican-class spacecraft deployed in 2026.

The players

Planet Labs

This company is a provider of daily data and insights about Earth, operating a large constellation of imaging satellites.

SpaceX

The aerospace company manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.

SES Space & Defense

This firm provides government and defense satellite communication solutions.

NVIDIA

The technology company designs graphics processing units and hardware modules used for artificial intelligence applications.

The details

The Pelican-12 spacecraft carries specialized communication hardware to test data relays via the O3b mPOWER constellation for SES Space & Defense. Planet Labs intends for this mission to prepare the company for full-scale serial assembly in Berlin later this year.

September 2026: Pelican-12 was delivered to Cape Canaveral.
October 20, 2026: The satellite launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Late 2026: Full-scale Pelican serial assembly is scheduled to begin in Berlin.
2027: Recurring constellation launches are planned to commence.

The Big Picture

By utilizing the O3b mPOWER satellite constellation for data routing, this mission accelerates the shift toward real-time, on-orbit data processing. This approach moves the industry away from legacy architectures that rely solely on ground-based downlink stations.

Successful on-orbit AI inferencing could lead to faster delivery of satellite imagery for applications like emergency response and agricultural monitoring. This technology aims to make high-resolution observation data available to end users with significantly reduced latency.

The takeaway

The deployment of Pelican-12 marks a transition toward smarter, more autonomous satellite fleets capable of processing data in space. These operational improvements are expected to pave the way for a more robust and rapid Earth-imaging service by 2027.