Xona’s Pulsar targets GPS with 258 satellites

Xona Space Systems is preparing to launch Pulsar, a low-Earth-orbit navigation network designed as a stronger, more interference-resistant alternative to GPS. The company says its signal could be 100 times more powerful than GPS, with positioning accuracy down to centimeters and timing synchronization of up to 10 nanoseconds.

Xona plans to launch the first six production Pulsar satellites in October and begin commercial services in 2027. The full constellation is expected to grow to 258 spacecraft.

How Pulsar is designed to improve on GPS

GPS, Galileo, BeiDou and GLONASS operate from orbits roughly 20,000 kilometers above Earth. Pulsar will fly much lower, allowing its signals to reach the ground with greater strength. That could improve reception in dense cities, beneath tree canopies and even indoors—areas where conventional satellite navigation often struggles with weak signals and reflections from buildings and glass.

Interference resistance is another central part of Xona’s pitch. In areas affected by electronic warfare, GPS can be disrupted with relatively inexpensive equipment. Xona says its first satellite, Pulsar-0, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in July 2025 and has already been used to test performance under interference in several countries.

According to the company, the stronger signal reduced the jammer’s affected area by 95%. For a navigation system positioned as an alternative to GPS, resilience against interference is a core requirement rather than a secondary feature.

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Existing receivers and a 258-satellite constellation

Xona also promises compatibility with existing receivers. Under its plan, many devices would need only a software update rather than new hardware. That approach could be critical for automakers, telecom operators and industrial-equipment owners, which are unlikely to replace large installed fleets solely to support a new orbital network.

The company is targeting mass production as well. Xona plans to build most of the satellites itself at a factory in California and is designing its own spacecraft platform. That could reduce reliance on contractors, but the scale of the undertaking is substantial: 258 satellites would make Pulsar a full LEO navigation system rather than a technology demonstrator.

Navigation and precision timing

Interest in low-orbit navigation has grown as governments and commercial operators look for backup channels if GNSS signals are lost or spoofed. LEO systems are being considered primarily as an additional layer alongside existing infrastructure, not as an immediate replacement for it.

Xona is also targeting high-precision time synchronization. Banks, mobile networks and data centers depend on accurate timestamps, and synchronization failures can be costly. If Pulsar can deliver 10-nanosecond timing without requiring complex atomic clocks on every satellite, its applications could extend well beyond vehicle navigation.

The lower orbit brings engineering challenges of its own. Global coverage requires dozens or hundreds of spacecraft, forcing Xona to coordinate launches, serial production, receiver compatibility and commercial deployment at the same time. The first major test will come after the October launches, when Pulsar’s on-orbit performance can be compared with its ambitious claims.