GATE Space

Berndorf AG visited our facility — a special moment with a partner who has supported GATE Space from the beginning. Grateful for the continued trust of Franz Viehböck, Thomas Karazmann, Norbert Zimmermann, and Sonja Zimmermann as we keep building ahead.

Avionics are essential for reliably commanding, monitoring, and operating a propulsion system. On BeaconSat, this role is performed by GATE’s Propulsion Control Unit. Like all our propulsion hardware, it undergoes rigorous testing to ensure reliability in orbit.

We are proud to partner with Space Inventor. Their flight-proven BeaconSat bus hardware - OBC, reaction wheels, solar arrays and batteries - forms the spacecraft core, enabling reliable operations while we focus on mission capabilities.

While GATE Space is best known for propulsion and spacecraft subsystems, for the BeaconSat mission, we’re also coordinating partners and suppliers, supporting the launch campaign, and preparing operations in orbit - bringing engineering expertise and collaboration together.

We’re excited to welcome Marianne Röchling as Business Development Manager at GATE Space. She connects our engineering expertise with market needs, builds partnerships, and helps ensure our technologies create impact across the evolving space ecosystem.

Propulsion is the backbone of modern space missions. Through The ESA Marketplace, part of ACCESS programme, BeaconSat will validate GATE Space propulsion technology in orbit - strengthening Europe’s ability to design, build, and prove high-performance propulsion systems in orbit.

We are proud to collaborate with the BMLV on the satellite mission “BeaconSat” and apply our expertise to strengthen Austria’s and Europe’s independence, resilience, and long-term ability to act in space.

GNSS underpins navigation, autonomy & infrastructure - but it’s vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. The BeaconSat payload by IGASPIN detects and characterizes GNSS interference from space, delivering situational awareness for secure drone & aircraft ops.

GATE Space leads “BeaconSat,” Austria’s largest satellite, with BMLV, ESA, Space Inventor, and IGASPIN. Launching Feb 2027 on Falcon 9, it will detect GNSS interference, strengthening European sovereignty and protecting critical space infrastructure.

We visited Agilox and saw how their focus on reliability, safety & ease of use built a global AMR leader. Co-founder David backed us early and joined our advisory board, believing that what works on the ground can also work in space. An inspiring visit that reinforced our path

End-to-end in-house qualification: a closed-loop process integrating engineering, quality, and testing in one workflow. Fewer external dependencies enable faster iterations and full control of critical systems-reflecting the discipline and rigor required for space-grade hardware.

Aerospace is demanding, leading it even more so. As qualification advances, pressure rises. Experience, strong project management, clear processes, and open technical dialogue ensure nothing is left to chance - driven by experts delivering with precision and purpose

In qualification, our thruster undergoes thousands of vacuum ignitions to prove repeatable, predictable performance across its full lifecycle. It passes only if every ignition meets criteria - turning expectations into demonstrated, orbit-ready reliability.

Our fluid subsystem undergoes rigorous qualification, with leak tightness and pressure integrity verified under vacuum and well beyond nominal limits. Testing exceeds the expected orbital environment, reaching pressures below 1 × 10⁻⁶ bar to reveal microscopic imperfections.

Among all subsystems, the fluid system carries special responsibility. Without propellant in orbit, nothing else matters - no control, no maneuvering, no target orbits. As a propulsion company, we place particular emphasis on fluid-system performance and reliability.

Before any hardware is built, mission objectives are translated into specific requirements. From those, details emerge. From details, components. And from components, systems. This step is complete. Every component was designed, built, and integrated with mission demands in mind.

Following our 2025 mission announcement, we have been methodically executing the transition from development to flight readiness. Over the past months, the team has been fully immersed in these demanding activities. Now, the curtain is starting to lift.

Clean rooms are essential to how we build reliable propulsion systems. They protect critical interfaces, keep engine and fluid systems contamination-free, and ensure consistent results. Every qualification thruster is verified and assembled under controlled conditions.

"You want to minimise known unknowns." When testing engines, every minute counts for data collection. Through front-loading — analysing interfaces and test stand readiness in advance — we ensure that testing time is spent gathering effective, high-quality results.

We are back 📍 The machines are running. We are diving straight back into iterating and testing our next-gen propulsion.