Adelaide Lightning Forms Milestone Commercial Partnership with Fleet Space Technologies

Adelaide Lightning has announced a commercial partnership with Adelaide-founded satellite and space exploration technology company Fleet Space Technologies.

The deal marks Fleet Space Technologies’ inaugural foray into sports club sponsorship, uniting two prominent South Australian entities around commercial, community, and STEM-focused engagement initiatives.

Fleet Space Technologies co-founder and CEO, Flavia Tata Nardini, highlighted the shared values of resilience and community leadership underpinning the alignment.

“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,” Tata Nardini said. 

Adelaide Lightning CEO, Melanie MacGillivray, emphasised the validation the partnership provides for female athletic programs.

“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,” MacGillivray said. 

Under the agreement, Adelaide Lightning Captain, Olympian, and WNBA player Steph Talbot, alongside Phoenix Mercury forward Madeline Westbeld, will serve as official Fleet brand ambassadors. Fleet branding will make its official on-court debut on the team’s new warm-up apparel when the Lightning hosts the Tasmania Jewels at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday, 7 November 2026.

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