Xona Space Systems

Xona Space Systems is a San Mateo, California-based satellite navigation company founded in 2019 developing PULSAR — a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite navigation constellation designed to complement and eventually supplement existing GNSS systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) by delivering centimeter-level positioning accuracy with significantly faster convergence time and greater signal resilience than current satellite navigation systems achieve.

GPS and other GNSS systems were designed in the 1970s-1980s for meter-level positioning from MEO satellites at 20,200 km altitude — achieving global coverage with 24-30 satellites. The MEO altitude means GPS signals arrive at Earth's surface with relatively weak power (approximately -130 dBm), making them easy to jam with low-power local jammers and vulnerable to spoofing with false signal generators. The long signal path also makes GPS ineffective indoors, in urban canyons, and in foliage — environments where centimeter-level positioning is most commercially valuable (autonomous vehicles navigating city streets, surveying under tree canopy, indoor robotics).

LEO navigation satellites address GPS's fundamental limitations: at 600-2,000 km altitude, LEO navigation signals arrive with 20-30 dB (100-1,000x) more power than GPS, making them dramatically harder to jam and more penetrating in obstructed environments. LEO satellites also move rapidly across the sky (relative to GPS's apparently stationary geometry from Earth's surface), providing faster geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) changes that accelerate position convergence for Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithms — meaning centimeter-level accuracy can be achieved in seconds rather than 20-30 minutes with current GPS PPP methods.

Xona's PULSAR system uses a purpose-built LEO constellation with signals designed for interoperability with existing GNSS receivers — allowing multi-constellation receivers to combine PULSAR signals with GPS/Galileo for enhanced accuracy, availability, and resilience. The primary target markets are autonomous vehicle navigation (L4/L5 autonomy requires 10-cm positioning with high integrity), precision agriculture, surveying and construction, and defense applications requiring GPS-denied positioning capability.

Competitors include Swift Navigation (software-defined PPP corrections service), TrellisWare (military LEO PNT), and eventually OneWeb/Amazon Kuiper if those constellations add navigation signals. Xona has received NASA and government funding for early-stage technology development.