Hyperspace gate in the current edition
The hyperspace gate (formerly known as the hyperspace cone [or simply cone] and the mothership) is what the offense uses to launch ships against the defense, serving to keep track of who is involved in an encounter and which planet the encounter is taking place at.
The hyperspace gate holds all offense's and offensive allies' ships. In the Eon and Mayfair editions, defensive allies' ships are also placed on the gate in the ring-shaped area near the pointed end; in the current edition, defensive allies' ships are placed on the table next to the targeted planet, but according to Fantasy Flight Games' 2018 FAQ, they are still considered to be in the hyperspace gate.