Xona Space Systems prepares beta test for commercial GPS alternative

Xona Space Systems is preparing to launch beta testing for Pulsar, a satellite-based navigation and synchronization system designed as a high-precision commercial alternative to GPS. The company plans to launch six satellites into orbit via SpaceX later this month.

While government-provided systems like GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou offer free signals, they face limitations regarding signal jamming, spoofing, and precision levels required for autonomous technologies. Xona aims to provide centimeter-level geolocation accuracy, compared to the meter-level precision of standard GPS, with a signal strong enough to penetrate dense urban environments and buildings.

Founded in 2019 by Stanford University aerospace engineering graduates, Xona has addressed key technical hurdles. The company developed an architecture that maintains precise timing without the need for expensive onboard atomic clocks by utilizing low Earth orbit proximity and continuous communication with ground-based reference sources. Additionally, the system is designed to be compatible with existing GPS receivers through simple software updates.