Image courtesy of Fleet Space Technologies
Adelaide-based Fleet Space Technologies will build and staff a round-the-clock mission control centre in the city’s western suburbs to track it’s planned constellation of nanosatellites.
The company, which will use the tiny satellites to connect devices to the internet of things, or IOT, recently received a $500,000AUD Future Jobs Growth Fund to be used to build the project being dubbed Mission Control South Australia.
Fleet Space’s CEO Flavia Tata-Nardini says the company is matching the grant with its own funds, and that the initiative will create 17 full-time jobs in IT and advanced manufacturing.
“Australia’s local space industry is buzzing,” says Tata-Nardini. “The mission control centre highlights the momentum, growth and commitment of government and industry to build a dynamic and ambitious space industry on Australian soil. It really is an exciting time to be a space business in South Australia!”
Fleet’s CEO Flavia Tata-Nardini
The company’s planned fleet of 100 tiny satellites, the first of which are on track to launch this year, will help connect the billions of devices to the IOT, monitoring things ranging from livestock, farming equipment, water and livestock.
“Once live, this network will create a digital nervous system that covers the planet, creating a world more connected than ever before,” says Tata-Nardini.
“We live in an era of exponential population growth, increasing environmental challenges and rapid resource depletion. The 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.”
South Australia is emerging as a hub for Australia’s fledgling space industry, launching it’s own space industry last year and joining the initiative to push for a national space agency.
These efforts will be highlighted at the Locate ‘18/GeoSmart Asia conference being held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 9-11 April, with Fleet Space Technologies’ CEO Tata-Nardini set to deliver a keynote address.
