US satellite builder Planet Labs opens production site in Berlin

Satellites provide data on the weather, but also on military installations. Now the company Planet Labs wants to open a production site in Berlin. It responds reassuringly to questions about possible influence from the US government.

The US company Planet Labs wants to start building satellites in Germany this fall. All manufacturing and testing of the satellites should take place in Berlin, said the company's managing director in Germany, Martin Polak. The new production facility is the company's first full-fledged manufacturing location next to San Francisco in the USA.

The first satellite built in Berlin should be ready before the end of the year, Polak said. The facility could be expanded to a capacity of up to 60 satellites per year. The company did not provide any information on the exact extent of the investment. However, it was said that the amount was expected to exceed eight figures. According to the company, almost 150 employees currently work in the Berlin branch. This number should grow by another 70.

Satellites provide data on weather, climate change and military installations, some of which are critical information. For example, they play an important role in the Ukraine war. According to Planet Labs, the so-called Pelican satellites, which are to be built in Berlin, provide high-resolution images for earth observation.

Planet Labs responded reassuringly to questions about the possible influence of the US government and American authorities on sensitive data. “We have been servicing government customers across Europe for over ten years without any difficulty,” assured Polak. "Our goal is to reduce dependencies where they matter most to European customers and strengthen their operational resilience and control in Europe."

This happens, among other things, through satellite production in Berlin, mission operations from Germany, European ground stations and data that is stored in European cloud infrastructure. Polak did not answer detailed questions about possible access or influence by US authorities.