Adelaide Lightning is proud to announce a new partnership with Fleet Space Technologies, the Adelaide-founded frontier technology companyn behind Australia's first low Earth orbit satellite constellation.
The partnership marks Fleet's first collaboration with a sporting club and brings together two proudly South Australian organisations with a shared ambition to challenge expectations, push boundaries and make an impact well beyond their respective industries.
The partnership was officially unveiled on Tuesday at Fleet's headquarters at Catalyst Park, Adelaide Airport, where Fleet co-founder and CEO Flavia Tata Nardini welcomed Adelaide Lightning CEO Melanie MacGillivray, General Manager of Basketball Tess Madgen, Captain Steph Talbot and the Lightning playing group.
Following the announcement, the players toured Fleet's facilities, gaining a firsthand look at the technology and innovation helping transform the global mining industry.
As part of the partnership, Fleet will work alongside Adelaide Lightning to elevate both organisations through a range of commercial, community and engagement initiatives. Adelaide Lightning Captain, Olympian and recent Las Vegas Aces WNBA player Steph Talbot, alongside fellow WNBA player Madeline Westbeld of Phoenix Suns Mercury will serve as Fleet player ambassadors, helping bring the partnership to life and inspire the next generation both on and off the court.
Beyond the court, the partnership will explore opportunities to connect sport, science, technology and community, inspiring young South Australians to pursue their ambitions and consider pathways they may not have previously imagined.
Fleet Space Technologies co-founder and CEO Flavia Tata Nardini, a rocket scientist and former propulsion test engineer at the European Space Agency, has a personal connection to basketball, having played the game growing up in Europe.
Flavia Tata Nardini, Co-founder and CEO, Fleet Space Technologies:
“Basketball was part of my life long before Fleet, and it’s one of the reasons this partnership is so meaningful to me. There’s something powerful about a team that keeps showing up for each other, especially when things aren’t going their way.
That same grit and belief is at our core at Fleet. To take what we’ve learned in space, transform how we explore Earth and find the critical minerals that will power generations to come…
But determination needs people behind it. Last year, we backed Joanne Ciconte in motorsport. Now, we’re proud to support Adelaide Lightning, a team that gives our community something to rally around and young girls something to aspire to.
I want the next generation, particularly girls watching these incredible athletes play to see ambition, strength and possibility, and to know there is a community ready to back their dreams. Whether they find their passion in basketball, science or something entirely different, we want to give them the confidence to go after it! Because it’s people with the courage to 'go after it' who can change the world.”
Adelaide Lightning CEO Melanie MacGillivray said the partnership was an important milestone for the club and reflected the growing commercial strength of women's professional sport.
Melanie MacGillivray, CEO, Adelaide Lightning:
"We're incredibly proud to welcome Fleet Space Technologies to the Adelaide Lightning family. To have a globally recognised South Australian company choose Lightning as its first sporting club partner speaks volumes about the growing strength and commercial appeal of women's sport.
Both organisations share an ambition to push boundaries, challenge expectations and inspire the next generation. This partnership is about so much more than basketball - it's about showing young people what's possible, whether their dreams are on the court, in science and technology, or beyond."
South Australia has a proud history of producing world-class women's basketball talent, with five WNBL Championships and generations of athletes who have represented Australia on the international stage.
From Lightning legends Rachael Sporn and Erin Phillips to current Australian Opals star Steph Talbot, the club continues to provide a platform for female athletes to compete at the highest level and inspire future generations.
Steph Talbot, Captain Adelaide Lightning:
"It's exciting to have a South Australian company like Fleet backing our team. As players, we know how important it is for young girls to see what's possible and have people they can look up to.
To be part of a partnership that brings together basketball, technology and opportunities for young people is something we're really proud of. Hopefully we can inspire the next generation to aim high, whatever their passion might be."
The partnership will make its on-court debut when Adelaide Lightning hosts the Tasmania Jewels at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday 7 November at 2:30pm, with Fleet branding featured on the team's new warm-up apparel.
About Fleet Space Technologies
Fleet Space Technologies is an Australian frontier technology company founded in Adelaide in 2015.
Fleet brings the engineering rigour, connected hardware and computational power of the space industry to mining’s hardest problems - How to find and deliver the critical minerals needed to power the next era of human progress.
About Adelaide Lightning
Adelaide Lightning is South Australia's professional women's basketball team, competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). A five-time WNBL Championship-winning club, Lightning has a proud history of developing elite basketball talent and inspiring generations of athletes, fans and communities across South Australia.
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