Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) announced that its Tanager-2 satellite and 18 SuperDove satellites, designated Flock 4J, have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ahead of their planned launch on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission.

Tanager-2 is designed to double Planet's hyperspectral imaging capacity and reduce revisit times for detecting methane emissions. The satellite is built to capture imagery across 426 contiguous spectral bands at a 30-meter spatial resolution. It is being deployed in partnership with Carbon Mapper, a nonprofit focused on methane detection and emissions mitigation.

"This launch includes 18 SuperDoves that enable Planet's daily scan mission, which underpins the AI-powered broad area solutions that are core to unlocking new markets, as well as Tanager-2, which is designed to double our hyperspectral capacity and halve revisit times to detect methane super-emitters," said Will Marshall, co-founder and CEO of Planet.

Riley Duren, CEO of Carbon Mapper, said the launch "represents a major milestone as we continue to expand the capacity of the constellation and scale up data-driven climate action."

Planet said it plans to build and deploy at least three additional Tanager satellites beyond Tanager-2. The Tanager constellation is also intended to support commercial applications including mine monitoring, coral reef health analysis, agricultural management, and water body assessment.

The 18 SuperDoves will supplement PlanetScope, Planet's daily global monitoring service, which provides coverage for customers in commercial enterprise, civil government, and defense and intelligence sectors.