A satellite that cannot move after launch is a fixed target with a fixed orbit and a fixed expiration date. Defense planners are increasingly unwilling to accept all three.
Moritz Novak is the CEO and Co-Founder of GATE Space, a Vienna-based space technology company developing chemical propulsion systems that give smallsats the ability to maneuver, reposition, and de-orbit on command. Founded in 2022 as a spin-off of TU Wien’s Space Team, the company has grown to 29 employees and built its technology around patented green propellant rocket engines designed to be regulation-compliant and precise enough for last-mile orbital positioning. The engines have completed more than 8,000 hot-run tests at the company’s facility near Vienna Airport, operating under both atmospheric conditions and in one of Europe’s most advanced vacuum chambers.
GATE Space’s highest-profile program is BeaconSat, Austria’s first military satellite, commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of Defence to detect and geolocate GNSS interference, including spoofing and jamming of GPS and Galileo signals. The satellite is the largest ever developed in Austria and is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in February 2027. The project is funded through a combination of approximately €1 million from the Austrian MoD and €500,000 from ESA, with additional support from Austria’s Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure.
The defense context for GATE Space’s work is expanding. Austria is partnering with the Netherlands on three demonstration satellites funded through the European Defence Fund, and the broader European defense space market is shifting from static constellations toward maneuverable assets that can respond to orbital threats. SatNews examined this trend in February 2026, reporting on how the era of the passive satellite is ending as defense operators demand spacecraft that can change orbit, evade threats, and extend their operational lifetimes. In the same month, SatNews covered the emerging role of commercial space technology in defense surveillance architectures.
At SmallSat Europe, Novak delivers a Tech Brief on the defense stage titled “From Static Assets to Agile Infrastructure: Redefining Satellite Mobility for Defense.”
Fixed orbits made sense when satellites were expensive and threats were theoretical. Neither condition holds anymore.
