Fleet Space Centauri-6 satellite deployed in space

Fleet Space Technologies has announced the successful deployment of its next-generation Centauri-6 satellite on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-1 mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The new member of the company’s satellite constellation will help service demand for its end-to-end mineral exploration solution, ExoSphere, while also building capacity to deliver SATCOM capabilities, according to a statement.

Co-Founder and CEO of Fleet Space Flavia Tata Nardini said that at current rates of mineral discoveries and production, net-zero goals were unattainable in the coming decades.

Tata Nardini said: “Leveraging the latest advances in space technology, AI, and geophysics – Fleet Space is demonstrating a path to accelerate mineral exploration in a more data-driven, scalable, and sustainable way.

“Centauri-6 is a portal into a future of efficient, mass-scale satellite manufacturing that can unlock previously unimaginable satellite-enabled solutions to hard problems on Earth.”

Centauri-6 has been designed with multiple upgrades to optimise the resilience and durability of the satellite while also supporting demand for ExoSphere.

More than 40 industry leading exploration companies – including Rio Tinto, Core Lithium, and Barrick Gold – have used the technology to complete more than 300 surveys for a variety of critical minerals.

Centauri-6 has greater uplink capacity and redundancy, enabling more resilient data transfer from Fleet Space’s satellite-enabled seismic sensors on the ground.

“The satellite has also been designed with an ion electric propulsion system powered by solar panels to provide thrust in the vacuum of space.

“Centauri-6’s design also leverages 3D-printed components – including the 3D-printed metal patch antenna Fleet Space pioneered on earlier Centauri satellites.”

Recently, Fleet Space’s Centauri-4 became the world’s smallest voice-enabled satellite after a demonstration of Push-To-Talk (PTT) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force Joint Capabilities Division as part of their ASCEND2LEO program.

Further reading:
Fleet Space Technologies launches seventh satellite
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‍Picture: Fleet Space Technologies