The first precision commercial alternative to GPS is preparing to go live when six satellites designed by the startup Xona Space Systems launch into orbit this month.
A service that competes with free signals provided by governments around the world may seem foolhardy, but Xona is hoping to add navigation and timing to the list of de facto government space monopolies disrupted by venture-backed startups.
Xona was founded in 2019 by a team of five engineers who originally met at Stanford University’s aerospace engineering graduate program. One, Tyler Reid, went on to earn a PhD, writing his thesis on the possibilities of using satellites in low-earth orbit to improve navigation.
GPS and analog satellite networks built by Europe, China, and Russia provide huge value, but are also easy to jam and aren’t precise enough to be used alone for applications like farming robots or self-driving cars. Over “pizza and beer chats,” the friends mulled whether fixing those problems could be a business.
“My knee jerk was like, this is dumb,” Xona CEO Brian Manning told TechCrunch during a recent visit to the company’s headquarters. “Why would anybody replace GPS? It’s free, right? And I started digging into it. 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.”
That didn’t mean the road to delivering such a service was simple. Improving GPS with a stronger signal that offers more precise timing and location data remained a technical challenge. The company needed to develop a unique architecture that would allow its satellites to keep time without expensive atomic clocks onboard, taking advantage of the spacecraft’s proximity to Earth and close communication with ground-based sources of truth.
The other technical challenge the company solved was making sure its signals could be received by existing GPS receivers with a relatively simple software modification. That gives Xona immediate access to the market and smoothes the way through the regulations for broadcasting navigation signals.
Later this month, a SpaceX rocket is scheduled to launch six satellites for Xona. Four are similar to a prototype the company launched last year that proved its technology; those satellites are built around a satellite platform from Aerospace Labs. The other two satellites were built entirely by Xona at its Burlingame, California, headquarters, and are intended to be the foundation of the company’s 258-satellite operational constellation, called Pulsar.
Pulsar will offer centimeter-level precision for geolocation, instead of the meter-level precision provided by GPS, and its signal is strong enough to be detected inside buildings and in urban environments. Manning also believes its signal is powerful enough to deter would-be jammers and spoofers, too.
Xona can begin beta-testing Pulsar with real customers once its satellites are in orbit and passing overhead the mid-latitudes about eight times a day.
Ian Gough, the CEO of TimeBeat, a company that specializes in electronic timing, says the initial pilot will allow his engineers to check and correct the timing provided by its devices around the world. By 2028, Xona hopes to offer full coverage in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Xona has raised just over $300 million from venture investors since its founding, including $20 million from the U.S. Space Force. While the company is focused on offering a commercial service, the U.S. government is clearly interested in the technology, as jamming and spoofing of satellite navigation services become increasingly common in conflicts.
While there are literally billions of potential users for a new precision timing signal, Xona is also looking ahead to a world of growing autonomy. Reid, whose thesis inspired the company and who now serves as its CTO, worked on self-driving cars at Ford and saw that a service like Pulsar would be needed to realize the potential of autonomous vehicles of all stripes.
Xona’s headquarters boasts an incredible view of planes landing at San Francisco International Airport. Watching the jets come in, Manning points out that 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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Key Takeaways
- Challenging a Monopoly:Xona Space Systems is set to launch the first commercial, precision alternative to government-run GPS, disrupting a long-standing de facto space monopoly.
- Unprecedented Precision & Resilience:Its Pulsar constellation promises centimeter-level geolocation, a significant upgrade from GPS’s meter-level accuracy, and a signal strong enough to resist jamming and spoofing.
- Fueling Autonomous Futures:By solving critical technical hurdles, Xona’s technology caters to the exploding market for autonomous systems, robotics, and precision applications, backed by over $300 million in private and government investment, including from the U.S. Space Force.
The Dawn of a New Navigation Era: Xona Space Systems Redefines Precision
For decades, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and its international counterparts from Europe, China, and Russia have served as the invisible backbone of modern navigation and timing. While undeniably invaluable, these government-provided services come with inherent limitations: meter-level precision that falls short for cutting-edge applications and a vulnerability to jamming and spoofing that poses increasing risks. Enter Xona Space Systems, a startup preparing to launch the first commercial alternative that promises to revolutionize how we navigate and time the world.
This month marks a pivotal moment for Xona, as six of its satellites prepare for launch aboard a SpaceX rocket. This deployment is the crucial first step toward establishing Pulsar, Xona’s envisioned 258-satellite operational constellation, designed to offer an unprecedented level of accuracy and reliability in geolocation.
The Unmet Need: Beyond “Good Enough” Navigation
The story of Xona began in 2019, born from “pizza and beer chats” among five engineers who met at Stanford University’s aerospace engineering graduate program. One of them, Tyler Reid, now Xona’s CTO, laid much of the theoretical groundwork in his PhD thesis, exploring how low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites could drastically improve navigation capabilities. They observed a paradox: GPS is “free,” yet the market for navigation hardware is immense and constantly seeking better performance.
Xona CEO Brian Manning initially shared the common skepticism. “My knee jerk was like, this is dumb,” Manning recounted to TechCrunch. “Why would anybody replace GPS? It’s free, right?” However, deeper investigation revealed a critical market gap. While the GPS *service* might be free, the *hardware* market, with billions of devices sold annually, is anything but. This vast ecosystem desperately craves enhanced performance—a need GPS, with its meter-level accuracy, cannot fully satisfy for emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, and drone delivery systems. The system’s susceptibility to interference further exacerbates these challenges, making it an unreliable sole source in critical applications.
Xona’s Technological Breakthroughs: Engineering the Future
Developing a commercial service to surpass a global, government-funded infrastructure was no small feat. Xona tackled two primary technical challenges that underpin the innovative architecture of its Pulsar system:
- Clockless Precision in Orbit:A major hurdle was achieving precise timing without the need for expensive, heavy atomic clocks onboard each satellite. Xona engineered a unique architecture that leverages the satellites’ proximity to Earth in LEO and maintains continuous, close communication with ground-based “sources of truth.” This allows for highly accurate timekeeping and synchronization, a cornerstone of centimeter-level precision, without the cost and complexity associated with traditional GPS satellites.
- Seamless Market Integration:To ensure rapid adoption, Xona focused on compatibility. Their solution allows existing GPS receivers to interpret Pulsar signals with a relatively simple software modification. This ingenious approach grants Xona immediate access to a massive installed base of devices and streamlines the regulatory path for broadcasting its navigation signals, significantly reducing barriers to entry and accelerating market penetration.
The Pulsar Constellation: From Prototype to Operational Powerhouse
The upcoming SpaceX launch is a significant milestone for Xona. Among the six satellites ascending to orbit, four are enhanced versions of a prototype successfully launched last year, built on a satellite platform from Aerospace Labs. These proven models further validate Xona’s core technology. The remaining two satellites are entirely Xona-built, developed at their Burlingame, California headquarters. These represent the vanguard of the full 258-satellite Pulsar constellation, embodying Xona’s long-term vision.
Once fully operational, Pulsar will deliver game-changing capabilities:
- Centimeter-Level Precision:A dramatic improvement over GPS’s typical meter-level accuracy, enabling pinpoint location tracking vital for autonomous operations.
- Robust Signal Strength:Powerful enough to penetrate buildings and operate effectively in dense urban environments—areas where GPS signals often struggle.
- Enhanced Resilience:Manning emphasizes Pulsar’s signal strength is specifically designed to deter and overcome jamming and spoofing attempts, offering a more secure and reliable navigation solution.
Charting the Course: Beta Testing and Global Expansion
With its initial satellites in orbit, Xona is poised to commence beta-testing Pulsar with real customers. The initial coverage will allow for approximately eight daily passes over mid-latitude regions, providing ample opportunity for early adopters to integrate and evaluate the service.
Ian Gough, CEO of TimeBeat, a company specializing in electronic timing, highlights the immediate value. Their engineers will utilize the initial pilot to verify and correct timing data from their global devices, ensuring unparalleled accuracy. Looking ahead, Xona has ambitious plans for global coverage, aiming to provide full service across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea by 2028, systematically expanding its reach to critical economic hubs.
Beyond Commercial: Strategic Importance and Investor Confidence
Xona’s groundbreaking work has attracted substantial investment, securing just over $300 million from venture capitalists since its inception. This includes a notable $20 million investment from the U.S. Space Force. While Xona’s primary focus remains commercial service, the government’s interest underscores the strategic importance of resilient navigation and timing technologies, especially as jamming and spoofing incidents become increasingly prevalent in global conflicts.
The company’s ability to provide an independent, robust, and highly accurate alternative to existing systems holds significant implications for national security and critical infrastructure.
The Autonomous Horizon: Powering the Next Generation
Beyond the immediate commercial and strategic benefits, Xona is building for a future defined by autonomy. Tyler Reid, Xona’s CTO, directly experienced this need during his time working on self-driving cars at Ford. He recognized that the existing navigation infrastructure was insufficient to unlock the full potential of autonomous vehicles, robotics, and drones. Pulsar is designed to be the foundational layer for this autonomous future, enabling machines to operate with human-level or even superhuman precision.
From Xona’s Burlingame headquarters, overlooking planes landing at San Francisco International Airport, Brian Manning draws a powerful analogy. He notes that “civil aviation” represents the “gold standard for safety” in mass transportation. Xona envisions Pulsar playing a similar role for autonomous systems. “We see Xona and what we’re building being able to play a big part in that,” Manning explains, “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.” It’s a vision of trust and reliability, driven by precision.
Bottom Line
Xona Space Systems is not just launching satellites; it’s launching a new paradigm for global navigation and timing. By offering a commercial service that far surpasses the precision and resilience of current government-provided GPS, Xona is poised to become an indispensable partner for the burgeoning autonomous economy. Its innovative solutions to complex technical challenges, combined with strategic investment and a clear vision for the future, position Xona to redefine safety, efficiency, and reliability across industries, from self-driving cars to critical infrastructure, fundamentally shaping how we interact with the physical world in the coming decades.
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