Pulsar Constellation (PNT Service)
Xona Space Systems
Xona's commercial LEO satellite constellation delivering an independent, GPS-alternative positioning, navigation, and timing signal with centimeter-level accuracy.
Technical specifications
- Orbit type
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO), sun-synchronous
- Planned constellation size
- 258-300 satellites (phased rollout)
- Signal bands
- Dual-band X1 and X5, compatible with GNSS L1/L5 receiver bands
- Signal strength
- Up to -136 dBW, ~100x stronger than GPS L1 C/A
- Position accuracy
- ~2 cm x 4 cm (horizontal x vertical)
- Timing accuracy
- <10 nanoseconds
- Convergence time
- Near-instantaneous to ~25 cm
- UTC traceability
- USNO, NIST, NPL, NRC time standards
- Signal security
- Cryptographically authenticated, jam-resistant custom waveforms
- Receiver compatibility
- Hybrid operation with existing GNSS receivers via firmware update
About
Pulsar is Xona’s flagship product: a purpose-built Low Earth Orbit satellite constellation broadcasting a dedicated PNT signal that operates independently of – and can complement – GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. Because Pulsar satellites orbit roughly 20x closer to Earth than traditional GNSS medium-Earth-orbit satellites, their signals arrive up to 100 times stronger than GPS L1 C/A, enabling reliable positioning in dense urban canyons, under heavy foliage, and in some indoor/degraded environments where legacy GNSS struggles.
The service is being rolled out in three phases: Phase 1 (~40 satellites) will deliver an in-view GNSS-enhancement service over mid-latitude population centers; Phase 2 (~70 satellites) extends the same service globally; Phase 3 scales to the full envisioned constellation of roughly 258-300 satellites for continuous global centimeter-level coverage. Signals are cryptographically authenticated and use custom, dynamically modulated waveforms designed to resist jamming and spoofing – addressing a key vulnerability of legacy GPS that has drawn interest from defense, critical-infrastructure, and autonomy customers.
Pulsar is designed for compatibility with much of the existing GNSS receiver ecosystem: many receivers can add Pulsar reception via firmware updates, allowing hybrid PNT that blends Pulsar’s LEO-derived accuracy and authentication with legacy GNSS global coverage. Target applications include defense, agriculture, telecommunications network timing, transportation and autonomous vehicles, maritime navigation, construction, aviation, financial-systems timing, mining, and robotics.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
