Australian Internet of Things (IoT) startup, Fleet Space Technologies, has on June 19 announced launch plans for its first two nanosatellites, Centauri I and II, in 2018.
The Adelaide-based company focuses on manufacturing low cost nanosatellites (satellites weighing less than 10kg, roughly the size of a shoebox) for applications such as tracking livestock movements, environmental, soil and water monitoring and supply chain logistics.
Fleet Space Technologies has announced that the first of its nanosatellites is under contract to launch with Spaceflight aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) by Antrix/ISRO. This satellite will establish a global network that will connect the world’s sensors and devices, for free. Just one satellite has the ability to cover 90% of the Earth.
Fleet Space Technologies’ second nanosatellite will launch on Spaceflight’s SSO-A mission; Spaceflight has a contract to launch a collection of small satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in the second half of 2018.
Over the coming years, the company plans to create a constellation of nanosatellites to create a scalable, global network to help connect many of the 75 billion sensors expected to dot the world over the next decade, laying the foundations for the next industrial revolution. Fleet Space Technologies’ nanosatellites will bring mass-scale efficiencies for industries like agriculture, mining, and logistics by enabling businesses to gather complex, revealing data to improve operations.
“It’s a huge milestone to have secured our first satellite launches with incredible organisations. We’re thrilled to work alongside some of the world’s leading space innovators to help transform industries down on Earth,” said Fleet Space Technologies co-founder and CEO, Flavia Tata Nardini.
Nanosatellite technology is ushering in unprecedented connectivity at a fraction of the cost of large scale, multinational space exploration projects, with lean manufacturing capabilities, simpler technologies and smaller payloads.
“Our world is facing huge challenges in the upcoming years with exponential population growth, rapid resource depletion, intensifying extreme weather events and heightening environmental issues,” Tata Nardini said. “At Fleet Space Technologies, our constellation of nanosatellites will power the next industrial revolution, giving businesses new access to data and connectivity, so that many of these issues can be solved, from space.”
Fleet Space Technologies is undertaking a variety of pilot projects to develop the technology, with applications ranging from precision agriculture and virtual fences to maritime logistics and mining. This year, Fleet Space Technologies also began selling the Portal, an IoT hub that takes information from sensors within a 15km radius, and delivers only the most pertinent information via edge computing. The Portal will allow businesses to scale their IoT capability quicker and more affordably.
