Under the agreement, Aerospacelab will act as Xona's transition manufacturing partner for the initial Pulsar deployment, supplying flight proven satellite platforms and providing systems integration expertise. The company will deliver satellites based on its Versatile Satellite Platforms line while Xona builds up its own manufacturing infrastructure for later phases of the constellation.
The expanded order follows the Pulsar 0 mission, which demonstrated a rapid speed to orbit and validated Xona's low Earth orbit approach to high performance positioning, navigation and timing. That pathfinder satellite showed that a LEO based architecture can support the precision, power and protection required by advanced timing and connected device applications.
With launches beginning in late 2026, Aerospacelab's platforms and integration services are expected to accelerate early constellation deployment and enable Pulsar to offer commercial services to Xona's earliest customers. Target markets include distributed timing users and operators of connected devices that benefit from resilient navigation and timing signals delivered from low Earth orbit.
Building on the momentum of the initial collaboration, the expanded partnership is described as strengthening the future of global navigation and reinforcing Aerospacelab's role as a flexible, high throughput supplier to constellation operators. The company promotes its Versatile Satellite Platforms as configurable buses that can be adapted for navigation, Earth observation and connectivity missions.
"We are thrilled to support Xona in bringing Pulsar to life faster by providing an additional eight satellite platforms for their constellation", said Benoit Deper, Chief Executive Officer of Aerospacelab. "The expansion of this partnership underscores Aerospacelab's focus on agility and scalable growth, ensuring we continue to meet our customers' needs as they evolve."
Tina Ghataore, Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer of Aerospacelab, said the larger order reinforces demand for the company's platform approach. "This renewed, larger order from Xona reinforces Aerospacelab's strength in providing innovative Versatile Satellite Platforms for every mission requirement. As a manufacturing partner accelerating near term speed to market, we are committed to delivering the expertise needed to power the breakthrough navigation advances Pulsar enables."
"Pulsar 0 showed that the next era of navigation can move at the speed of commercial innovation", said Jay Wakenshaw, Chief Operating Officer of Xona. "Working with Aerospacelab accelerates that momentum, allowing Xona to deliver Pulsar's next era capabilities to customers sooner while we lay the foundations for long term production in California."
Founded in 2018, Aerospacelab is pursuing a vertically integrated model that combines rapid satellite manufacturing with operations to support constellation scale deployments. The company maintains its headquarters in Belgium and operates a factory in the United States to serve an expanding international customer base.
As part of its expansion plans, Aerospacelab intends to open The Megafactory in 2026, described as one of Europe's largest satellite manufacturing facilities. The site is planned to increase production throughput and support constellations such as Pulsar as well as other missions that require rapid, repeatable satellite production.
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