FLEET HAS SPACE TO GROW BUSINESS
FLEET Space Technologies has unveiled what it says is the world’s first entirely 3D-printed satellite, which it aims to put into orbit next year.
The Adelaide-based satellite firm recently raised $US26.4M from highprofile investors including Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-brookes’ investment company, and says it will use the money to expand the scope of its space ambitions.
The company currently has six Centauri nanosatellites in orbit - each about the size of a shoebox - with a goal for a constellation of 140.
The new, larger Alpha models, which Fleet says will be ready for launch in 12 months, will sit alongside the Centauri satellites, and will be able to provide high-speed connectivity and unlimited data services globally.
Fleet co-founder Flavia Tata Nardini said the company aimed to become a leader in the global satellite sector.
“It is Fleet Space’s vision that everyone, everywhere, has access to unlimited connectivity, no matter where they are on the globe; in cities, remote regions, on land or navigating the oceans,’’ Ms Tata Nardini explained.
“Alpha represents a major step forward and the first time a satellite has been created entirely through 3Dprinting.”
Fleet says its ability to 3D-print antennas for small satellites, which was a world-first, underpinned the development of the Alpha satellite, which would include 64 antennas versus just four in the Centauri 4.
The company recently said it aimed to hire about 70 new staff using the money raised from investors, which valued it at more than $170m.
Fleet’s Centauri satellites are used to communicate with low-power devices on the earth’s surface, allowing wide-scale monitoring at low cost, and in areas where mobile phone networks are not available.