What you need to know: A methane-detecting satellite launched last Friday by a philanthropic coalition lays the groundwork for additional satellites that could track upwards of 40% of global methane emissions.

August 18, 2024 - VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE – California just followed through on a promise by former Governor Jerry Brown – a philanthropically-backed coalition, including the state, launched its ‘own damn satellite’ to help track dangerous pollutants like methane. Tackling methane emissions is critical to combating the climate crisis because methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide emissions for near-term warming of the planet.

Planet Labs successfully launched its Tanager-1 satellite last Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The satellite is designed to detect, pinpoint, and quantify super-emitters at a level of granularity needed to support direct mitigation action.

Liftoff of Transporter-11! pic.twitter.com/R7UoMknxRk

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 16, 2024

The launch was made possible by the Carbon Mapper Coalition, which is a philanthropically-backed partnership dedicated to filling gaps in the emerging ecosystem of methane and CO2 monitoring systems. The coalition is led by Carbon Mapper, Inc., a nonprofit organization, and includes Planet Labs PBC, NASA JPL, RMI, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Arizona State University and others. It has received philanthropic support from High Tide Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Grantham Foundation.

Separate from this launch, as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Climate Commitment budget, California has made a $100 million state investment in using satellite methane data. This data could help track upwards of 40% of global methane emissions. 

California’s collaboration in this effort was initially launched by former Governor Brown in 2018. At the time, Governor Brown said: “We’re going to launch our own damn satellite to figure out where the pollution is and how we’re going to end it.”