May 27, 2021 :: San Mateo, CA, - Xona Space Systems, a San Mateo-based startup creating the first ever secure and precise commercial Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) satellite service, today announced the formation of its strategic committee of trusted advisors. This Advisory Board includes distinguished government and public sector industry leaders whose focus will be to shape and guide the strategy and technological priorities of Xona Space Systems, working closely with the leadership team. 

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​“We are thrilled to have the support of such an experienced and respected group of individuals guiding us on our path to developing a system that ushers in a new era of ubiquitous and reliable precision.” said Brian Manning, Co-Founder and CEO of Xona. “Satellite navigation and timing impacts nearly every aspect of our lives, and as we enter the age of autonomy, the dependency and performance demands are only increasing. The track record of the team we have assembled speaks for itself in their ability to build successful enterprises in supporting everything from consumer to critical government industries.”

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Introducing Xona's Advisory Board Members (in alphabetical order):

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Daniel Ammann - Daniel Ammann has been working in the PNT industry since 1997 when he co-founded u-blox. He was in charge of all u-blox GNSS receiver products until 2019. Through his consulting company dammven GmbH, he continues to contribute to Satellite navigation businesses around the globe. He is also an active Business Angel and supports the startup scene in Zurich, Switzerland. His main interests are in bringing together the business and engineering worlds, in creating, nurturing and growing new businesses, and in future technology trends. Daniel is of Swiss nationality and lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

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Rafferty Jackson - From the Beats by Dre sale to Apple for $3B, to The North Face and Vans reaching over $1B in the Americas, to taking Ubiquity Software public on AIM on the London Stock Exchange and selling it to Avaya, Rafferty has taken market defining companies through hyper-growth, investments, global expansion, acquisitions and IPO. Now at Jack Industries, she focuses on purpose and storytelling and invests in women-led companies through Astia Angels. She is a New Space and Autonomy advocate, mentoring at the Seraphim Space Camp and advising the New Vista Acquisition Corp. in addition to Xona Space Systems.

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David Klinger, PhD - Dave Klinger is an Aerospace Consultant with broad experience as a design and systems engineer, program manager and executive on defense and commercial space programs. He led satellite development programs that included communications, PNT, imaging and missile warning systems. Following retirement as Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, he was engaged by The Aerospace Corporation and Lockheed Martin performing risk assessments and readiness reviews of national space programs. He also served as a consulting professor at Stanford University helping students design Cubesats. He received a Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. His dissertation involved dynamics and control studies of the Stanford Gravity Probe B (Relativity Experiment) satellite.

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Keith Masback – Keith Masback is internationally recognized authority on geospatial intelligence with over 30 years of experience. Today, he provides strategic advice and counsel to a diverse portfolio of leading-edge startups, focused on product-market fit, go-to-market planning and execution, mentoring, and executive coaching. He was recently appointed to the Mapping Sciences Committee of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Previously, he served as an Army officer, a government senior executive, a member of the Intelligence Task Force of the Defense Science Board, a member of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing, and as the Chairman of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee.

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Natalia Saidoglu, PhD - Natalia Saidoglu serves as Senior Space Systems Architect at Stellar Solutions. She began her space career as an RF antenna engineer at JPL, where she supported several Mars and Deep Space Missions. Post JPL, Natalia held various payload system development roles at Space Systems Group of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (previously Orbital) and MAXAR Technologies (previously SSL); and was a director of Payload Engineering at ABS Global. Natalia has PhD in Computational Electromagnetics from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and has more than 30 publications. She is a recipient of MTT-S Graduate Student Microwave Fellowship Award and URSI Young Scientist Award.

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Todd Walter, PhD - ​Todd Walter is a Research Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University.  He is also a member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board.  His research focuses on implementing satellite navigation systems for safety-of-life applications.  He has received the Institute of Navigation (ION) Thurlow and Kepler awards.  He is also a fellow of the ION and has served as its president.

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For more information, please contact:

E-mail: info@xonaspace.com

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About Xona Space Systems, Inc.

Xona Space Systems is developing the first ever independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system designed to meet the needs of intelligent systems. Delivered via a secure, high-power signal from Xona's low Earth orbit satellites, the patent-pending Pulsar™ service aims to enable the next wave of connected technology. Learn more at www.xonaspace.com or follow Xona Space Systems on Twitter @XonaSpace.

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