Xona Space Systems, a company building the next gen of satellite navigation, has partnered with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the U.S. Space Force to work toward a secure Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) architecture leveraging Xona’s PULSAR™ service.
This $1.2M Direct to Phase II SBIR (D2P2) contract was awarded through an AFWERX SBIR Open Topic after Xona successfully demonstrated the capability of their patented LEO PNT architecture using the “Huginn” demo satellite in late 2022.
Xona PULSAR is a commercial SATNAV service powered by a constellation of small satellites in LEO designed specifically to provide high-performance PNT to end users. With satellites that can be rapidly manufactured and launched and can operate independently of GPS, PULSAR provides a global, high-powered alternative that offers unprecedented levels of SATNAV resilience and protection.
“Our partnership with the AFRL Space Vehicles directorate and USSF’s Space Warfighting Analysis Center will give Xona the expertise necessary to seamlessly integrate PULSAR into the US national security space architecture,” said Brian Manning, Chief Executive Officer for Xona Space Systems. “Early assessment of unique DOD PNT requirements will set us up for a successful transition to operational service.”
Preceding the award, Xona became the first company to launch a privately funded PNT mission progressing from concept to on-orbit in less than 12 months. Since then, Xona has validated the capability of their technology on-orbit and built out a growing ecosystem of GNSS receiver and simulator partners with companies such as Hexagon | NovAtel, Septentrio, Spirent, Safran, Syntony, and StarNav.
