Space Inventor delivers core satellite platform for Europe’s first Austrian military satellite, BEACONSAT

Nations across the world are facing a growing and largely invisible threat: the disruption and manipulation of satellite navigation signals through jamming and spoofing. As a consequence, Danish satellite manufacturer Space Inventor is partnering up with GATE Space on the BEACONSAT mission – Austria’s largest domestically developed satellite and the country’s first military satellite. Space Inventor will deliver the complete satellite platform and core mission engineering required to bring the satellite safely into orbit and keep it operational.

Aalborg, March 2, 2026 - BEACONSAT, scheduled for launch in February 2027, is designed to detect and analyze interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including jamming and spoofing. The mission addresses a growing security challenge often referred to as “navigation warfare” and contributes directly to European resilience, defense readiness, and technological sovereignty.
BEACONSAT is commissioned by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defense and supported at the European level through ESA’s Marketplace program as a dual-use technology demonstration mission. The satellite will provide critical data on GNSS interference, supporting both military and civilian situational awareness.

In addition to advancing GNSS intelligence, a technical objective of BEACONSAT is the in-orbit demonstration (IOD) of a chemical propulsion system by GATE Space, the Austrian propulsion specialist responsible for the overall BEACONSAT mission. GATE space is developing the satellite’s chemical propulsion system, thermal control system, and structural subsystem. 

Space Inventor is responsible for all satellite-related systems and mission engineering. The Danish satellite builder has adapted its platform to accommodate propulsion components placed in non-traditional external positions and developed control algorithms capable of maintaining precise control despite moving liquid mass inside the spacecraft.

• From a satellite engineering perspective, BEACONSAT is a demanding mission. Integrating a liquid-fuel propulsion system into a compact satellite platform requires non-standard dynamics and structural challenges. Our role has been to ensure that the satellite not only carries the payload, but actually flies safely, remains controllable, and performs as intended throughout the mission, says Ole Thomassen, project lead at Space Inventor.

Space Inventor’s scope of work includes the complete satellite bus, including onboard computer (OBC), attitude determination and control systems, reaction wheels, magnetorquers as well as power systems. In addition, Space Inventor delivers system engineering and mission analysis, including all orbital and performance calculations, mechanical and structural integration, providing design input to accommodate GATE Space’s liquid-fuel thruster and tank within a highly constrained smallsat platform. Also, Space Inventor provides mission operations support, ensuring stable flight, correct orbital behavior, and long-term operational reliability

The project underscores Space Inventor’s growing role in European defense and security space missions. European security increasingly depends on reliable, sovereign space capabilities, and BEACONSAT demonstrates how European companies can jointly deliver advanced, operational space systems – from propulsion and payloads to complete satellite platforms.

The satellite will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in February 2027.

For further information, please contact:
Karl Kaas, Founder & CEO, Space Inventor A/S, +45 31 20 82 10 / karl@space-inventor.com 
Press service: Jacob Lange, Lange PR ApS, +45 20 76 30 20 / jacob@langepr.dk 

About Space Inventor
Space Inventor is a Danish satellite manufacturer and second-generation New Space leader founded in 2015. Guided by the promise to make space for progress, the company specializes in "flexible modularity," combining standardized, flight-proven modules with bespoke customization to deliver robust satellites for government, defense, and commercial missions. Headquartered in Aalborg, Denmark with offices in Copenhagen and Leuven, Belgium, Space Inventor operates with full vertical integration and non-ITAR compliance, offering partners a transparent, high-quality path to orbit that is designed, built, and tested in Europe. Continue reading on www.space-inventor.com