GPS Jamming From Space Is Worse Than We Thought — Xona's Pulsar-0 Reveals the Staggering Scale

Xona Space Systems has released groundbreaking data from its experimental Pulsar-0 satellite, revealing the immense scale of GPS signal tampering across Europe and the Middle East. Launched last year, Pulsar-0 orbits at 310 miles (500 km) altitude, serving as a testbed for Xona's planned 300-satellite Pulsar navigation constellation designed to deliver positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) signals 100 times stronger than current GNSS. When the team activated the satellite's GPS receiver, they were shocked to find signal strength plummeting from the standard 40 decibels to as low as 10 decibels over regions from France to Pakistan. This jamming, attributed to Russian activities near Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, had been suspected but never quantified from space with such precision.

The implications for LEO satellites are significant. The data proves that ground-based jammers can disrupt GPS signals even at orbital altitudes, affecting satellite operations that depend on precise positioning and timing. Without reliable GPS, imaging satellites struggle to aim cameras, communication satellites cannot synchronize data, and altitude determination becomes impossible. Xona's co-founder Kaz Gunning noted that while North America showed clean signals, European and Middle Eastern airspace is heavily degraded. The Pulsar constellation aims to mitigate this with stronger signals, but the findings underscore a growing vulnerability in space-based infrastructure that underpins everything from power grids to financial networks.