Planet Awarded as a Subcontractor for $95M California Satellite Data Purchase Program

Planet Labs PBC was selected as the primary subcontractor for the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) Satellite Data Purchase Program (SDPP). The $95M SDPP multi-year contract was awarded to Carbon Mapper with Planet as a subcontractor to provide the state of California with methane data built upon Tanager hyperspectral collections, and other Planet data products. SDPP will primarily utilize Planet data to identify and track methane emissions in California and worldwide.

SDPP represents a cost-effective and powerful coalition between California, Carbon Mapper, Planet, and philanthropic partners. The partnership brings together cutting-edge commercial technology, government-led R&D, and smart policy making to deliver an affordable and advanced solution to taxpayers and commercial markets. This initiative also helps sectors from oil and gas to agriculture to become more efficient and waste less, showcasing the partnership's commitment to both economic and environmental benefits.

Tanager-1 was launched in August 2024 and Planet plans to launch Tanager 2, 3 and 4, growing its hyperspectral constellation to four satellites. Following Pelican-1’s launch in November 2023, Tanager-1 is the second Planet satellite to successfully integrate the company’s Smallsat platform, which utilizes a vertically-integrated satellite bus and Planet’s global mission control network.

The Tanager smallsat-powered constellation is intended to provide some of the most comprehensive and up-to-date hyperspectral data, which is critical for a diverse set of customers across applications like detecting methane and carbon emissions, defense and intelligence monitoring, agriculture, biodiversity, and water quality assessments. By providing high-frequency, global satellite imagery and multi-spectral data, Planet provides a critical layer of information that improves timely situational awareness, enabling early threat detection, better resource management, and more informed decision-making.