A San Francisco–based company called Planet Labs announced plans yesterday to launch 28 mini-satellites in a ring around Earth as early as December of this year. The company aims to provide frequent snapshots of the planet, allowing users to track changes—from traffic jams to deforestation—in close to real time.
Some existing commercial satellites focus on taking high-resolution images of particular regions for their customers, using technology that can discern details smaller than a meter across, but the demand for these services means it can take days or weeks to get a desired image. And government science satellites that image the entire planet do so at relatively low resolution, showing details tens or hundreds of meters across.
Planet Labs’ satellites will use moderate resolution, making out objects three to five meters wide. But thanks to the sheer number of satellites, the fleet should be able to take more frequent snapshots of the globe. The exact frequency has yet to be decided, but “it is going to be something the industry doesn’t have today,” says company cofounder Robbie Schingler, a former chief of staff for NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist.
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