PL Stock Gains Premarket: Planet Labs Opens Berlin Facility To Scale Pelican Satellite Production

• Planet has completed the handover and cleanroom fit-out of its 5,700-square-meter Berlin facility, with Pelican production set to begin this autumn.
• The first Berlin-built Pelicans are scheduled to launch on an Isar Aerospace Spectrum vehicle in early 2027, an update from the July announcement's“as early as late 2026” target.
• Planet plans to add 70 employees to its nearly 150-person Berlin team as it expands its European manufacturing footprint

Planet Labs (PL) shares were in focus in premarket trading after the Earth-imaging company opened a new satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin, adding a new production capability for its European operations.

PL was trading roughly 3.4% higher at the time of writing on Tuesday morning. 

Planet Moves Into Satellite Production In Berlin

The company said on Tuesday that the Berlin facility has completed its handover and cleanroom fit-out and is scheduled to begin production of its 300 kg-class, 30-cm-resolution-class Pelican satellites this autumn. The first satellite is expected to be completed before year-end, while the facility can eventually scale to up to 60 satellites annually.

The 5,700-square-meter site will bring satellite production alongside Planet's existing Berlin operations, which include mission operations, software development, imagery processing and quality control. Planet said satellites will be built, tested and shipped from the same location. 

Planet CEO and co-founder Will Marshall said the center will bring the company's satellite manufacturing expertise to Europe, enabling the region to rapidly build scaled Earth-observation fleets for applications ranging from sustainability to security.

First Berlin-Built Pelicans Headed For 2027 Launch

The manufacturing expansion is also tied to Planet's previously announced partnership with German launch company Isar Aerospace.

Planet said the first Berlin-built Pelican satellites completed this year are scheduled to launch on an Isar Aerospace Spectrum vehicle in early 2027.

Planet and Isar Aerospace announced their launch partnership in July, saying a Pelican satellite assembled at Planet's Berlin manufacturing facility would fly on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket, targeted for as early as late 2026 from Isar's launch complex at Andoya Space. The companies said the mission, with both satellite and rocket built in Germany, would mark a national first and demonstrate the country's advancing sovereign space capabilities.

Planet Expands Its Berlin Footprint

Planet said it will add 70 employees to its existing Berlin team of nearly 150. Berlin has served as the company's European base for more than a decade, with the site also supporting mission operations and other corporate functions.

The company said more than 30% of its global workforce is based in Europe, with offices in Berlin, Haarlem, Ljubljana, Graz and London. Its European ground-station network across Germany, the U.K., Norway and Iceland downlinks nearly 50% of Planet's satellite data globally, according to the company.

The Berlin manufacturing facility was first announced in September 2025 as an investment intended to expand Planet's high-resolution satellite production capacity and support European demand. At the time, Planet said the investment was expected to exceed eight figures and add up to 70 employees.

PL Stock: What Is The Retail Mood?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits toward PL was 'bearish' over the past 24 hours, with 'low' message volume.

PL shares have lost nearly 10% year to date.

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