Australian space company Fleet is launching its 5th nanosatellite next month

Fleet Space Technologies will launch its fifth nanosatellite, Centauri, 3 next month as part of Rocket Lab’s latest mission, taking off from New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula.

Fellow South Australian satellite venture Myriota will also launch its first satellite in the same Rocklet Lab payload.

Centauri 3 is part of a planned 140-strong constellation offering satellite connectivity for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Fleet Space founder and CEO Favia Tata-Nardini

Fleet Space CEO Flavia Tata Nardini said Centauri 3, which weigh less than 10kg and is the size of a shoe box, has 119x data capacity compared to its predecessor and is integrated with the satellite bus/avionics in an ongoing collaboration with US nanosatellites systems designer Tyvak.

It will sit in low earth orbit at at 550km. It’s the second time Fleet Space has used NZ-based Rocket Lab, following on from the launch their Proxima I and Proxima II nanosatellites in 2018.

Tata Nardini said Fleet’s devices are revolutionising the resource and mining industries, as well as providing technologies for the company’s Seven Sisters moon mission in 2023, which is a part of the NASA’s Artemis program to Mars.

“Global critical infrastructure is challenged by asset remoteness, and requires secure two-way communications as well as the ability to remotely manage their assets,” she said.

“Fleet Space has worked for many years to create these world first features that underpin the real internet from space for things, putting the company as a leader in critical infrastructure IoT management around the world. Our Centauri 3 carries our 25th payload manufactured by Fleet Space.”

Lift-off is scheduled for mid-March. Named They Go Up So Fast, the mission will be Rocket Lab’s 19th Electron launch, and 100th overall.