Planet Labs Successfully Launches 20 Satellites on SpaceX Transporter-18 Mission

04:20 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Planet Labs (PL) successfully launched 20 satellites aboard SpaceX's (SPCX) Transporter-18 rideshare mission, including Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google's Project Suncatcher demo, Tanager-2 and 18 SuperDoves, the company said Thursday. The company said it has made initial contact with Tanager-2, the Suncatcher prototype and two SuperDoves and started the commissioning process. The remaining 16 SuperDoves are expected to deploy from the D-Orbit ION orbital transfer vehicle, it added.