Satellite Programs & Technology Europe Commercial Space Industry (New Space)

Planet opens Berlin factory to build Pelican satellites, putting European Earth-observation sovereignty in focus

Planet Labs has opened a Berlin manufacturing facility to expand production of its Pelican Earth-observation satellites, with the first spacecraft built there expected to launch in 2027. The investment strengthens European imaging capacity while highlighting questions around data sovereignty, security and the control of satellite shutters.

Discovered 2026-09-22T04:51:20.134268-07:00 | 2026-09-22T04:51:20.134268-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

A Berlin production line expands Europe’s capacity to manufacture commercial Earth-observation satellites and supports Planet’s Pelican scaling plans ahead of a 2027 launch.
The facility brings data sovereignty, security and shutter-control considerations into sharper focus for governments and customers relying on commercial imagery.
No directly relevant previous clusters were provided for additional context.

Reported By

Bloomberg SpaceWatch Global newsable.asianetnews.com