Introducing the First Precision Commercial Alternative to GPS
This month marks a significant milestone in satellite navigation as six satellites designed by the startup Xona Space Systems are scheduled to launch into orbit. This event introduces the first precision commercial alternative to the ubiquitous Global Positioning System (GPS), a technology that has, until now, been dominated by government-operated networks.
Though it may seem ambitious to compete with free navigation signals provided by national governments, Xona’s mission is to challenge the long-standing monopoly on timing and navigation services in space. Supported by venture capital, the company aims to offer enhanced capabilities that address the limitations of current systems.
Origins Rooted in Academic Expertise and Innovation
Xona Space Systems was founded in 2019 by five engineers who met during their aerospace engineering graduate studies at Stanford University. Among them, Tyler Reid, now the company’s Chief Technology Officer, completed a PhD focusing on the potential of satellites in low-earth orbit (LEO) to improve navigation precision. This academic foundation inspired the business model and technical direction of Xona.
While global satellite navigation systems like GPS, Galileo (Europe), BeiDou (China), and GLONASS (Russia) provide essential services worldwide, they face challenges such as signal jamming and insufficient precision for emerging applications. Farming robots, autonomous vehicles, and other advanced technologies demand centimeter-level accuracy and robust signal integrity—areas where traditional systems struggle.
As Xona CEO Brian Manning shared during a visit to the company’s headquarters, “People think of GPS as a free service, but the market isn’t the service. The market’s the hardware, and you have billions of devices being sold every year; those things aren’t being given away for free. There’s an immense market that is desperately looking for better performance.” This insight helped shape Xona’s strategy to complement and enhance existing navigation capabilities rather than replace them outright.
Technical Breakthroughs Driving Xona’s Vision
Delivering a more precise timing and navigation service posed significant engineering challenges. Xona developed a novel satellite architecture enabling its spacecraft to maintain precise timing without relying on costly atomic clocks onboard. Instead, the satellites leverage their close proximity to Earth and frequent communication with ground-based reference points to ensure timing accuracy.
Another important innovation is the compatibility of Xona’s signals with existing GPS receivers. The company designed its signals to be receivable with only modest software updates, thereby facilitating rapid adoption and easing regulatory hurdles associated with broadcasting new navigation signals.
Launching the Pulsar Constellation
The upcoming SpaceX launch will carry six satellites to orbit: four built on a platform from Aerospace Labs similar to the prototype launched last year, and two fully developed by Xona at their Burlingame, California headquarters. These latter satellites represent the foundation of Pulsar, Xona’s planned 258-satellite constellation.
Image Credits: Xona Space Systems under a Xona Space Systems license.
Pulsar aims to deliver centimeter-level geolocation precision, a significant improvement over the meter-level accuracy typical of GPS. Its signals are strong enough to penetrate urban environments and building interiors, enhancing reliability for a wide range of applications. Manning also notes that the system’s robust signals could help deter jamming and spoofing attempts, growing concerns in the satellite navigation community.
Once operational, the satellites will pass over mid-latitude regions approximately eight times daily, enabling Xona to begin beta-testing Pulsar with real customers.
Industry Impact and Future Prospects
Ian Gough, CEO of TimeBeat, a company specializing in precision electronic timing, anticipates that the initial pilot phase will allow his team to calibrate and adjust their timing devices globally. Xona’s roadmap includes full regional coverage of the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea by 2028, demonstrating ambitious but achievable growth.
Since its founding, Xona has raised over $300 million from venture investors, including a notable $20 million investment from the U.S. Space Force. This reflects the strategic interest of government entities in resilient and precise navigation services, especially amid increasing threats of jamming and spoofing in contested environments.
Looking ahead, Xona envisions a world where autonomous systems—from self-driving cars to robotics—depend on Pulsar’s precision. CTO Tyler Reid’s experience at Ford working on autonomous vehicles underscored the necessity of a navigation service that meets the stringent demands of safety and reliability required for widespread autonomy.
At Xona’s headquarters, overlooking the approach to San Francisco International Airport, Manning reflects on the company’s broader mission: “Among all the forms of mass transportation, the gold standard for safety is civil aviation. We see Xona and what we’re building being able to play a big part in that … to provide the service to a car, so you can feel as safe taking your hands off the wheel as you are laying back in an airliner.”
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