GATE Space

GATE Space (Graz Advanced Technology Enterprise), a Vienna-based Austrian startup founded in 2022, is developing modular chemical propulsion systems for small satellites — providing green bipropellant and monopropellant thruster modules designed to meet the growing propulsion demand from the commercial smallsat and cubesat market as orbit-raising, constellation deployment, debris avoidance, and end-of-life deorbit become operational requirements rather than optional capabilities.

GATE Space's product architecture centers on modularity: a family of thruster modules, propellant tank assemblies, and propellant management components (valves, pressure transducers, fill/drain ports) that can be configured in different combinations to match the mass, volume, delta-v, and thrust requirements of satellites from 5 kg cubesats to 150+ kg smallsats. This plug-and-play approach reduces non-recurring engineering cost for customers who can select a proven module combination rather than commissioning a fully custom propulsion system design.

GATE Space focuses on 'green' chemical propulsion — high-performance monopropellants such as AF-M315E (ASCENT), LMP-103S (HPGP), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that offer higher specific impulse and lower toxicity than hydrazine (the conventional spacecraft monopropellant), which requires specialized handling infrastructure, respiratory protection, and hazardous materials regulations that complicate satellite processing at commercial launch sites. Green propellants can be handled by personnel with standard protective equipment and are more compatible with the rapid-integration workflows of rideshare launch campaigns.

GATE Space benefits from Austria's technical university ecosystem — TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology) and TU Graz (Graz University of Technology) have strong aerospace and fluid dynamics programs — and from ESPI (European Space Policy Institute) and Austrian Space Forum connections that provide policy and partnership access. The company participates in ESA's Austrian industrial return programs and competes with Bradford ECAPS (Sweden, HPGP thrusters), Aerojet Rocketdyne (MR-103 hydrazine), and Enpulsion in the European small satellite propulsion market.