TL;DR / Executive Summary
- Seraphim portfolio company Xona has received FCC approval to deploy its Pulsar navigation constellation of more than 250 low Earth orbit satellites.
- The authorisation is the final major regulatory step before deployment, with the first six production satellites scheduled for launch in October.
- Pulsar is designed to work alongside GPS, offering stronger signals, centimetre-level positioning and protection against spoofing.
- Xona has become the first company to secure FCC authorisation for a private navigation constellation operating alongside global navigation systems such as GPS, paving the way for a new commercial alternative to traditional state-run networks.
[Blog taken from Xona’s website]
The Federal Communications Commission authorized Xona to broadcast Pulsar navigation signals from our full constellation of more than 250 satellites in Low Earth Orbit. This authorization marks the last regulatory milestone needed to advance Pulsar from demonstration to scaled deployment.
This October, we will launch our first six production Pulsar satellites. The spacecraft that will follow to build out our constellation are already being built in our satellite production facility in Burlingame, CA. Pulsar has been proven on orbit, partners are integrating our signals into existing devices, and now, Xona will become the only FCC-authorized private navigation constellation to operate next to nation-state systems from the United States, Europe, China, and Russia.
After years of proving that a new, substantially stronger commercial navigation signal can operate safely alongside GPS, Xona is now authorized to deploy our full system.
A New Signal, Built Beside GPS
GPS is one of the most important technologies ever created. It supports aviation, communications, financial markets, emergency response, transportation, energy infrastructure, and billions of devices around the world.
It was also designed for a different era.
Today’s systems need stronger signals in urban centers and conflict zones, protection against increasingly common spoofing and jamming, greater precision, and infrastructure that can evolve at the speed of modern technology. Pulsar was purpose-built for those needs, with native centimeter-level precision, signals up to 100 times stronger than GPS, cryptographic protection against spoofing, and a software-defined architecture that can continue improving after launch.
Pulsar operates in L-band, alongside the center frequencies used by GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). This proximity makes Pulsar compatible with devices and infrastructure the world already uses, but also creates an imperative to innovate in a crowded space, engineering a new signal that can coexist with those already there.
There are more than six billion GNSS-enabled devices already in use today. We designed Pulsar to meet those devices where they are, enabling manufacturers to add support through software and firmware updates wherever the existing hardware allows it.
Since Pulsar-0 launched last June, we’ve demonstrated that Pulsar can deliver substantially stronger signals without interfering with GPS, aviation safety systems, or other navigation services operating around the world.
As Xona’s Co-Founder and CTO Tyler Reid explained in a recent blog, compatibility is not a single technical decision. It requires coordination across satellites, receiver manufacturers, test equipment providers, regulators, and customers.
That same philosophy led us [Xona] to launch Pulsar Verified, our program for companies building compatible chipsets, receivers, devices, and simulation tools. Pulsar is not being developed as an isolated system, but instead being built in collaboration with the community of integrators and component manufacturers around the world that will bring Pulsar’s capability into the hands of innovation everywhere.
Ready for What Comes Next
When Xona was founded, satellite navigation was considered the domain of nation-states. Programs took decades to field with scant opportunities to introduce innovation.
Today, Pulsar is broadcasting from orbit. Production satellites are preparing for launch. Partners are building compatibility. And now, Xona is authorized to deploy our complete system in the years ahead.
Vulnerabilities from GPS are impacting more and more people around the world, threatening the invisible infrastructure behind modern life. At the same time, innovations in autonomous technology, robotics, drones, and physical AI are moving out of controlled environments and into the world alongside us. With this authorization, we’ve proven that commercial innovation can fill the gaps in our modern world – protecting what already depends on navigation while enabling what comes next.
