Flavia Tata Nardini: From star gazing to space exploration

While Flavia Tata Nardini stood and watched the stars as a young girl in Rome, she knew she was destined to be among them.

“When I was younger I always loved to look at the stars,” Flavia said.

“That was always my inspiration.”

What the Italian didn’t realise was that her inspiration would lead to an extraordinary career.

“When you look at the stars or you look at space, you have this feeling that you can do something bigger…that you can reach something bigger,” she said.

Flavia realised her “something bigger” when she moved more than 15,000 kilometres to Adelaide: which, at the time, was not known for its burgeoning space industry, but rather, for its beaches and wineries.

“When we started Fleet it was hard to believe that you could build a satellite constellation and a company away from Silicon Valley,” she said.

“… in reality, the reason we are so successful is because we are here.”

Flavia made her move to South Australia from Rome, Italy. Her partner had sold to her a lifestyle he believed was unique to his home state and convinced her that — despite it not being Silicon Valley — South Australia could be the next big thing.

Within three years of moving to Adelaide, Flavia had made it her own by co-founding Fleet Space Technologies — a connectivity company designed to connect everything, everywhere, through Low Earth Orbit satellites.

The company has already designed, built and launched Australia’s only commercial satellites (with six already in orbit) and is working towards building a constellation of 288 microsatellites in Low Earth Orbit.

“The reality is that South Australia gives you a superpower; a clarity of mind to achieve your dreams,” Flavia said.

“I feel like the more time I spend in Adelaide the more I will achieve.

“It really gives me the power to achieve anything I want and be happy.”

When Flavia first arrived in Adelaide, the space industry was limited and so she decided to create her own opportunity. Now, just a decade later, South Australia is rapidly emerging as a global centre of excellence in space and advanced aerospace technologies.

With more than 100 space-related organisations, the state is attracting the world’s most ambitious space entrepreneurs, who use Adelaide as a launching pad for space innovation and exploration.

“We have a space agency here now in Adelaide that has created an ecosystem that’s really important for growth,” Flavia said.

“Now we are seen as a centre of tech…and a centre of space.

“Not anymore simply a city with beautiful beaches and beautiful wine, but a centre where magic happens with technology.”