Australian New Space company Fleet Space Technologies has announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and SpaceX will launch the first of its nanosatellites in the coming months; these nanosatellites will be the foundation for a constellation that will provide connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT).
Adelaide-based New Space develops nanosatellite technology to connect sensors and devices across the world for free. The company says just one of their satellites will be able to cover 90 per cent of Earth. It is ramping up to create a constellation of nanosatellites to create a scalable, global network, to connect many of the 75 billion sensors expected to be on the planet in the next decade.
This first of these nanosatellites is under contract to launch with Spaceflight aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by Antrix and ISRO. The second launch will also be in partnership with Spaceflight, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Its launch is planned for no sooner than the second half of 2018.
These first two launches are important steps for Fleet Space.
“It’s a huge milestone to have secured our first satellite launches with incredible organisations,” sad CEO and co-founder Flavia Tata Nardini. “We’re thrilled to work alongside some of the world’s leading space innovators to help transform industries down on Earth.”
Nardini hopes this massive project will be transformative for the entire planet.
“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,” she continued. “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.”
Using its proprietary nanosatellite technology, Fleet Space is undertaking a range of projects to develop applications for the satellites, ranging from precision agriculture to mining.
