7 October 2020
Editors Update: Rocket Lab successfully launched on 28 October 2020 (see a video of the launch below).
Planet’s next scheduled launch of Flock 4e’, a total of 9 SuperDoves on Rocket Lab’s Electron, is currently planned for the first half of October and will lift off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Emerging from the unfortunate launch accident of Flock 4e on Electron in July, this next launch speaks to both Planet and Rocket Lab’s resilience and agility to get back on the pad so quickly. These SuperDoves will be deployed into an approximate 500 km morning-crossing Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), joining the rest of the flock already providing unprecedented medium-resolution global coverage and revisit.
This will be the 15th flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron and the third time they’ll be carrying Planet satellites. Rocket Lab named this mission “In Focus” in a nod to the Earth-imaging satellites onboard, and we couldn’t be more excited to be launching from New Zealand again.
Follow along for launch updates on Planet’s Pulse blog and Planet’s Twitter.
Photo: Planet’s SuperDoves will be integrated with Rocket Lab’s Maxwell payload dispensers, seen here in the clean room at Rocket Lab’s headquarters in Long Beach, California. Credit: Rocket Lab
Source: Planet
More Posts
07 Sep 2026
Beyond Woodchips: Australia’s hardwood plantation industry must innovate
For more than three decades, Australia’s hardwood plantation industry has been built on a simple but largely successful business model: growing world-class plantation fibre for export to Asia’s pulp mills. It has underpinned regional economies, attracted significant investment and established ...
Read more
07 Sep 2026
Free program to help SMEs advance AI and digital tech ideas in Queensland
The free eight-week online program, delivered by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, helps businesses turn early-stage ideas into actionable R&D plans while building connections with expert facilitators and researchers. Offered through the Queensland Government-funded Regional University Industry Collaboration (RUIC) program, ...
Read more
07 Sep 2026
Science safeguards NZ’s rarest ecosystems
Some of New Zealand’s most remarkable ecosystems are also among its rarest. Now, new research is aimed at helping councils and land managers better understand and protect them. Led by the Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao, the two-year project will develop practical ...
Read more
07 Sep 2026
AI identifies trees from the air as accurately as the human eye
A new remote sensing method identifies the species of individual trees with an accuracy of up to 90 percent. Detailed data on species makes forestry more efficient and improves the monitoring of biodiversity. Thanks to recent research on tree species ...
Read more
07 Sep 2026
Learning Through the Storm: Report released
The Top of the South Wood Council, with support from Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service, has recently released Learning Through the Storm, a report on the widespread windthrow caused by the severe storm events of 2025. On July ...
Read more
04 Sep 2026
Carbon Forestry 2026 – Event Summary
The Carbon Forestry 2026 Conference, held in Rotorua on 4–5 August, brought together forest managers, investors, industry leaders and government representatives to explore some of the big questions facing carbon forestry. The Government’s commitment to forestry was reinforced by Climate ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
Forestry confirms new training partnership with Competenz
New Zealand’s forestry sector has confirmed it will align its workplace vocational training with the new Engineering and Manufacturing Private Training Establishment (PTE), operating under Competenz. The decision follows extensive consultation with employers, contractors and training providers, led by the ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
FPInnovations launch new forest seeding by drone trial
In the wake of wildfires, bringing affected areas back into production poses a major challenge, particularly in remote or hard-to-reach areas. In Canada, wildfires affect an average of 2.8 million hectares of forest each year, underscoring the importance of exploring innovative ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
Extracting knowledge from a forest 3d digital twin using TreeTools SilvaCloud
Modern LiDAR technology is transforming the way we understand forests. With the introduction of sensors such as the DJI Zenmuse L3, collecting detailed three-dimensional information about forest structure, terrain, and vegetation has become more accessible than ever before. At Interpine, ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
Opportunities for improved firefighter safety in Australia
John O’Donnell Opinion Piece Firefighter safety in Australia requires urgent attention as forest structure, fuel loads and fire behaviour shift toward more dangerous conditions. Past crown fires have created dense shrub dominated understoreys, abundant dead wood, reduced height stratification and ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
Annual reputation survey provides insight into public perceptions of forestry
The results of the Forest Growers Levy Trust’s 7th annual Social Licence to Operate (SLO) survey have been published, continuing to build one of the sector’s most valuable long-term evidence bases for understanding how New Zealanders view forestry. After 7 years ...
Read more
11 Aug 2026
Revisiting a forest experiment that lay forgotten for 30 years
What’s the best way to manage a forest? Australians have argued about this for decades. The debate is often framed as binary: do we protect forests entirely, or harvest trees to support local economies and communities? The reality is more ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Hexagon acquires ITRES to expand the scope of airborne mapping
Hexagon has acquired ITRES, the Calgary-based provider of high-performance airborne hyperspectral and thermal imaging systems, strengthening its ability to deliver richer multi-sensor geospatial data for advanced airborne mapping and analysis. The acquisition unites two complementary portfolios under one provider. Hexagon ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
How ‘digital twins’ could help predict the fate of a forest
In his office in MSU’s forestry department, EEB core faculty member David Carter shows off an image of a virtual forest on his laptop. It’s not just any forest. It’s a computerized replica, or “digital twin,” of a loblolly pine stand, created ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Call for Presenters – ForestTECH 2027
Innovatek is inviting expressions of interest from technology developers, researchers, forest managers and equipment suppliers interested in presenting at ForestTECH 2027, Australasia’s leading forestry technology conference. The event series is running 9-10 March 2027 in Brisbane, Australia, and 16-17 March ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
NZ safety gains drive drop in forestry’s injury claims
Forestry’s injury claims have fallen by around 34 percent since 2018, reflecting sustained improvements in safety performance and injury prevention across the sector. ACC has highlighted the Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) as a strong example of what can be ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
New data provides opportunities for wildfire hazard analysis
New research from the Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao aims to improve New Zealand’s wildfire preparedness and response. The institute has developed national-scale wildfire hazard potential data layers to help communities, businesses and wildfire managers better understand the areas that are more likely to burn under high-risk conditions, and how severe fire behaviour is likely to be. The data was developed by simulating more than 500,000 potential ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Reducing bushfire extent, a key benefit of prescribed burning
An Opinion Piece: John O’Donnell Across south eastern Australia, prescribed burning rates remain at historically low levels, despite overwhelming evidence that this single mitigation tool is the most effective, scalable and proven method for reducing the extent of bushfires. While ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Early fire detection installed in the Far North
Spark, the Far North District Council (FNDC) and Dryad have implemented an advanced ultra-early fire detection system at the Waitangi Endowment Forest – the first of its kind in New Zealand. This initiative aims to safeguard one of New Zealand’s ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Empowering forestry and wood through tech
The Government is backing the New Zealand’s forestry sector’s innovation and sustainable productivity, announced from Agriculture Minister Todd McClay last month. “Greater land use flexibility results in prosperity through productivity, and new production methods and technologies are key to driving ...
Read more
07 Jul 2026
Scientists discover unexpected climate benefit hidden in forest soils
Researchers report that methane absorption has increased under shifting climate conditions, based on a long-term study conducted in Germany. Forest soils play a key role in regulating the climate by removing large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from ...
Read more