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Revolution in Berlin: Planet Labs opens satellite production facility!
US company Planet Labs will open a production site in Berlin in 2025 with an investment of 45 million euros and 70 new jobs.
Revolution in Berlin: Planet Labs opens satellite production facility!
The US company Planet Labs is planning to open a new production site in Berlin. With an investment of around 45 million euros, 70 new jobs are to be created. Company boss Will Marshall announced that the state-of-the-art Pelican satellites will be produced in Germany in the future. This location is the first that Planet Labs is opening outside of California.
By opening this facility, the company hopes to double its current production capacity. Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche and Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär were also present to present the plans. In Berlin, Planet Labs already employs 150 people who work in a control center.
Contract with the federal government
In July, the company won a significant contract from the German government worth €240 million for satellite services. Loud Yahoo Finance It is a multi-year contract that supports German security and peace initiatives. Planet Labs will provide dedicated capacity and direct downlink services on Pelican satellites for certain European regions.
The contract also includes access to PlanetScope and SkySat data as well as AI-powered solutions that enable improved situational awareness. Will Marshall emphasizes the importance of this treaty for regional security and the increasing demand for geospatial intelligence. Revenue from this agreement is expected to be realized from January 2026 and increase over several years.
Growing importance of the satellite industry in Germany
The satellite industry is experiencing remarkable growth in Germany. Have as part of a joint venture Rheinmetall and ICEYE announced the founding of the company Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions. The joint venture focuses on promoting satellite production in Germany, particularly in the area of synthetic aperture radar satellites (SAR). Production is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026 in the newly created “Rheinmetall Space Cluster” in Neuss.
This new venture could help secure Europe's sovereign defense capabilities. Rheinmetall holds 60 percent of the shares in the joint venture, ICEYE 40 percent. The technology of SAR satellites offers the advantage of providing high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions, making them a valuable resource for numerous applications.
Overall, these developments testify to a significant upswing in the German satellite industry and Europe's strategic ability in the area of geospatial technologies.