
Planet Labs has signed a multi-year contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to join the Copernicus Contributing Missions, under which it will contribute commercial satellite data to the Copernicus services alongside ESA’s Sentinel satellite data.
Under the contract, Planet’s PlanetScope satellite imagery and high-resolution SkySat imagery will serve as complementary data to ESA’s extant offerings.
“We have a long history of working with ESA, and we’re honoured to continue to support the Copernicus Program as a Contributing Mission with our PlanetScope and SkySat constellations,” said Massimiliano Vitale, Planet Senior Vice President of Tasking Products.
“Europe has demonstrated global leadership in Earth observation innovation, and we’re thrilled to see their continued investment in commercial space companies from the region.”
Planet has previously contributed to both Copernicus and the ESA Third Party Mission program.
In other news, Planet has disclosed the signing of a multi-year, $370 million (US$230 million) agreement to expand its partnership with a long-standing, undisclosed, commercial partner in the Asia-Pacific.
Under the agreement, Planet will deliver a constellation of new Pelican high-resolution satellites, on which some capacity will be reserved for the partner.
“This agreement represents a significant milestone for Planet, it is our largest contract to date, and is a major step forward in what we see as a very large market opportunity for satellite services,” said Will Marshall, Planet’s CEO and Co-founder.
The payment of $370 million will be made over the build and operational service period of the satellites, which is estimated to be approximately seven years.