11 Mar 2024
Media Releases

Push-to-Talk technology successfully demonstrated on Fleet Space’s Centauri-4 satellite

11 Mar 2024

A cubesat orbits over Earth with solar panels extended.

Fleet Space and SmartSat collaboration leads to breakthrough in tactical communication capabilities

SmartSat today commended Fleet Space Technologies’ successful demonstration of satellite-enabled Push-to-Talk (PTT) capabilities as part of the Defence Space Command-funded ASCEND2LEO project. 

SmartSat and Safety from Space supported Fleet Space by adapting a variant of the ‘Beagle’ communications waveform, developed under previously SmartSat-funded projects, which Fleet Space implemented on the Centauri-4 satellite for this demonstration. This milestone in PTT capabilities opens a path to more secure, reliable, instantaneous communications across vast distances using highly advanced microsatellite architectures.

Simulated image of Tactical Voice Communications from Centauri Satellite.

ASCEND2LEO’s successful demonstration for the Australian Defence Force Joint Capabilities Group showed that Fleet Space’s Centauri satellites can be re-programmed to deliver high-quality, fit-for-purpose voice capabilities while in orbit. Voice capabilities for Fleet Space’s Centauri satellite were enabled via a software update, establishing a proof of concept for the Regenerative Voice System architecture underlying the ASCEND2LEO program. As a result, this demonstration validated the ability of highly adaptable microsatellite constellations to rapidly deliver purpose-built, high-quality SATCOM capabilities at scale to meet complex needs in diverse scenarios.

Read the full media release here.