·Fleet Space Technologies has secured $26.4m (USD) in investment, valuing the company at $126 million (USD).

This represents a major step forward for Fleet Space Technologies, which is committed to creating the world’s most advanced low-power satellite network, securing planet-wide coverage for millions of compatible Internet of Things (IoT) devices by using its in-house Nanosatellite technology.

The funding will underpin significant expansion in Fleet Space’s manufacturing footprint and will expand the company’s highly skilled workforce. 

The investment, which exceeded the initially targeted $25m (USD) is a clear endorsement of Fleet Space’s vision. The Australian start-up, co-founded by Flavia Tata Nardini and Matt Pearson, has created the most advanced smallsat payload yet delivered to orbit.

These smallsat devices, roughly the size of a shoebox, generate ten times more throughput per kilo than larger spacecraft and will support radical new efficiencies for hundreds of industries using IoT.

This will transform the ability of companies and institutions to manage and control their remote assets across the world and in real time, 24 hours a day, even in remote areas, where cellular connectivity is not available and where operations are critical.

The investment also represents a firm commitment to Australia’s rapidly emerging space industry, which the Federal Government plans to grow to a $12 billion, ranking the sector among the nation’s fastest growing industries.

Its expansion in the region will also create 70 jobs, including many highly desirable science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) positions in the first phase of growth.

These roles not only secure a bright future for the country’s technical innovators and critical thinkers, but will support in making Australia a home for innovative solutions that drive positive change on a global scale.

The International Data Corporation predicts that there will be more than 14 billion connected, low-power devices by 2025. To unlock the full force of efficiencies that lie in the data collected by these devices there must be a network through which this information is gathered and analysed. Only with this information can improvements in products and the way they are used be truly realised. 

Fleet Space technology provides this function to businesses big and small through a smallsat satellite-based network. The existing network is made up of six nanosatellites, which were launched to orbit via SpaceX, an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket and twoRocket Lab launches. 

Fleet Space’s latest Centauri 4 nanosatellite has been integrated with digital beamforming technology which uses an array of multiple antennas along with cutting edge Digital Signal Processing. 

This beamforming technology provides a substantial increase in throughput of customer IoT data and can service a higher number of customer portals at once. 

Integrating this digital beamforming into a nanosatellite which is not much bigger than a loaf of bread, is a world first.  Beamforming can also dramatically improve data reliability and security by reducing the impact of interference.

These nanosatellites are combined with ground-based networks, affording industries a cost effective way to benefit from the information of their IoT enabled devices where cellular networks are unavailable.. 

Through a growing constellation of nanosatellites and proprietary network gateways which harness the LoRaWAN communication protocol…As well as vastly reducing unnecessary carbon emissions, this technology will free organisations of billions of dollars of lost value by leveraging the Internet of Things.

The $26.4m investment will increase the size of Fleet Space’s constellation and meet unprecedented demand from more than three million compatible devices registered to join the Fleet Space network.

Australia was one of the first countries to launch a satellite into space from its home soil, and subsequently its leaders have consistently voiced a requirement for the nation to continue its explorations. Indeed, the nation itself relies heavily on space technology to power the everyday lives of its people – from communication services to Earth observation, navigation purposes and weather forecasting. 

In 2019, the Australian federal government announced its ambition to grow the size of the Australian space economy to $12 billion by 2030 and create an additional 20,000 jobs in the field. 

This ambition is underpinned by the nation’s booming commercial space sector, led by Fleet Space. Beyond nanosat technology, Australia already boasts take-off and landing facilities, commercial rocket launches and a burgeoning space-centric software industry, positioning the nation as a capable, strategic and globally engaged leader in the field.

Homegrown Australian technology is also supporting the wider space industry. Fleet Space is leading the Seven Sisters’ Australian space industry consortium in support of NASA’s Artemis program to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 and create a sustainable human presence for later crewed Martian exploration. Commencing in 2023, the Seven Sisters missions are designed to find accessible water and other resources on the moon.  

“Fleet Space Technologies have delivered on their promise to unlock the potential of the Internet of Things through their proprietary NanoSatellite technology. We are proud to be part of an ambitious new growth phase that will widen Fleet’s satellite network and more broadly serve critical infrastructure in remote locations.” Jonathan Meltzer, Partner at Alumni Ventures