“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.

Our recent Series B investment empowered us to realise this vision by embarking on a bold new strategy. This new chapter in our story is led by the development of a new constellation of satellites named Alpha, which will work in harmony with our existing Centauri constellation.

Alpha represents a major step forward and the first time a satellite has been created entirely through 3D-printing. By bringing together the creation, deployment and service of space technology this is a clear statement of our intent to become a global leader in space technology, and to support Australia’s ambition to lead this critical field.”

 Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO and Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies 

Fleet Space’s Future Strategy

Today, Fleet Space Technologies announced its future strategy, led by the development of a new constellation of 3D-printed small satellites named Alpha, with the first satellites ready for launch in 12 months. This will sit alongside the existing Centauri constellation.

Leveraging experience and learnings from the successful operation of the company’s growing constellation of small satellites, Fleet Space will be able to expand its coverage reach and provide down to sub-seconds latency, providing an extremely cost-effective means to unlock unprecedented connectivity more quickly and in more locations, however remote. 

The Alpha constellation represents a fundamental shift for Fleet Space. Empowered by a recent $26.4m (USD) Series B investment, the startup has expanded the scope of its dedicated research and development arm to create the Alpha small satellite. The creation of the world’s first entirely 3D printed satellite, integrates Fleet’s advanced beamforming technology and patented antennas.

The World’s First in 3D Printing

The existing Centauri constellation is among the world’s most advanced space communications systems. Like Alpha, Fleet Space’s latest Centauri 4 small satellite, developed in collaboration with Tyvak, has been integrated with Fleet Space’s breakthrough smallsat digital beamforming technology that uses an array of multiple 3D printed all-metal 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 terminals at once. It does this by generating a high number of highly-directional low-interfering beams in point-to-point satellite communications.

This achieves a high spectral efficiency which improves quality of service through enhanced frequency re-use, faster data rates and more link robustness. Integrating this digital beamforming into a Low Orbit Satellite, not much larger than a half a square meter, is a world first. 

Fleet has a clear track record in advanced manufacturing methods such as 3D printing. This includes a world-first in metal 3D-printing patch antennas for small satellites. This proves the company’s approach and the robustness of the technology for much wider use.

Indeed, Alpha satellites will have up to 64 of these antennas on board versus only 4 in the Centauri 4. This represents a 16-fold increase in performance while being only four times heavier.