Industrial Automation Magazine India

Spirent announces SimXona, an industry-first Xona satellite constellation simulator

Published on : Friday 02-06-2023

Spirent will launch SimXona at the ION Joint Navigation Conference, June 12-15, 2023, in San Diego, California.

Bangalore, June 01, 2023 – Spirent Communications, the leading global provider of test and assurance solutions, is pleased to announce SimXona, an industry-first Xona satellite constellation simulator, has been fully certified by Xona Space Systems. Xona is developing PULSAR™, a commercial positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) service built on a backbone of low Earth orbit (LEO) small satellites. Xonas patented high-powered smallsat signals will improve PNT resilience and accuracy by augmenting global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as GPS, while operating with an independent navigation and timing system architecture.

Spirent will launch SimXona at the ION Joint Navigation Conference, June 12-15, 2023, in San Diego, California.

Xona launched the first-ever dedicated LEO PNT satellite into orbit in May 2022, allowing our next-gen technology to be utilized, but live-sky testing is only available for a few minutes per day, explained Bryan Chan, Xona Co-founder & VP of Business Development. Since the full constellation takes time to deploy, Spirent signal simulators are vital for developers and integrators. Spirent has been a valued partner as they have prioritized providing a trusted test solution for OEMs who want to integrate Xona signals now. Spirents flexible software-defined architecture enabled a quick and robust implementation, and we were impressed by the results of our certification.

Spirents dedication to innovation is underscored by our partnership with Xona. With Xonas formative advancements in LEO PNT in the commercial sphere, and ongoing GPS modernisation efforts, its an exciting time for those of us whose core mission is to optimize and secure PNT, stated Rob VanBrunt, President/CEO of Spirent Federal. The options for layered PNT solutions are growing—along with the need for interference and NAVWAR testing—and Spirents purpose-built equipment is meeting these expanding requirements through unrivaled performance and interoperability. Deterministic simulation unique to Spirent solutions ensures fidelity is never compromised and test results are accurate.

SimXona can simulate the Xona LEO constellation today—on its own, and in concert with Spirents comprehensive PNT and threat simulation capabilities. Spirent has developed LEO simulation solutions for both the military and commercial sectors, including modeling software that combines the simulation of precise LEO orbits and highly accurate GNSS signals, delivering greater realism for applications that have no margin for error.