Why Is Planet Labs Stock Gaining Friday? - Planet Labs (NYSE:PL)

Planet Labs shares rose Friday after the company announced a successful launch of 20 satellites, including a prototype developed with Google. The spacecraft lifted off on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Planet said the payload included the first demonstration satellite for Google’s Project Suncatcher, its Tanager-2 hyperspectral satellite, and 18 SuperDove satellites. The Suncatcher mission will test Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in orbit, exploring whether machine-learning workloads can run in space. Planet also established initial contact with Suncatcher, Tanager-2 and two SuperDoves, with the rest expected after deployment. The launch marked Planet’s 40th successful mission; shares were up 7.96% to $17.42.