David Mitlyng for Xairos

...In with the New
Its been two decades since the infamous Volpe Report raised alarm bells over the vulnerability of GPS.
Since then, the threats have only escalated (see below) while the plans for a GPS replacement have stalled.
There is now a push for private industry to step up.
So what could replace this cold war relic that is so critical for our modern world?
One concept is a hybrid terrestrial and space system for stronger positioning signals.
There is also a vision that future positioning devices will break any external tethers and rely on inertial, magnetic, or gravity sensors.
Or possibly leverage muons that can penetrate solid objects.

We have our own vision for this future - hit us up for a fun conversation on the art of the possible.

Last Week's Theme: Out with the Old...

Quiet week for the Xairos team as we used dead week to catch up with family and reflect on a busy year:

• Completed US Air Force and NASA projects, a paper for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences Research in Space, with more projects in work.
• Demonstrated our hardware in a lab to validate the technology and our simulation model, helping us to architect the software and system design.
• Accepted into the prestigious Techstars Space Accelerator 2021 and CDL Quantum Stream, working with mentors to develop our commercial go-to-market strategy.
• Rebranded to Xairos, a reference to the Greek concept of opportune time.
• Kicked off a seed fundraise with 1/3 of our funding in place, not including a $250K Colorado Advanced Industries Grant.
• Interviews with Apogeo Spatial and Kratos, and a podcast appearance.
• Busy conference schedule, including speaking engagements at QURECA, Q2B, TTI/Vanguard, APSCC, Satellite Innovation Forum, Denver Startup Week, CCSDS Time Management Working Group, and CyberSatGov; attended three in-person conferences, Space Symposium, Satellite 2021, and Q2B; and many virtual conferences.
• Collaboration agreements with a commercial satellite operator and university quantum research group.

But there is a lot more to accomplish in the new year!

• SPIE Photonics West, January 22 - 27, San Francisco, CA - setting up meetings now!
• ION Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Meeting 2022, January 25 - 27, Long Beach, CA
• Inside Quantum Technology The Hague, February 21 - 23, The Hague, Netherlands
• Quantum Information Processing (QIP 2022), March 7 - 11, Pasadena, CA
• Satellite 2022, March 21 - 24, Washington DC
• Quantum Business Europe, March 23 - 24, location TBD
• IEEE International Conference on Space Optical Systems and Applications, March 28 - 31, Kyoto, Japan
• Space Symposium, April 4 - 7, Colorado Springs, CO
• Workshop on Synchronization and Timing Systems, May 9 - 12, Denver, CO
• Photonics for Quantum, June 6 - 9, Rochester, NY
• Quantum.Tech Boston, June 14-15, Boston, MA
• Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition, June 13 - 16, Boston, MA
• IEEE Quantum Week 2022, September 18 - 23, Broomfield, CO

• "Why China’s Advancements in Quantum Technology Worry Others". A recent DoD report noted that China’s 14th Five-Year Plan includes plans to install satellite-enabled, global “quantum-encrypted communications capability” by 2030. They have also “achieved a series of breakthroughs in quantum technology including the world's first quantum satellite, a 2,000-km quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and the world's first optical quantum computing machine prototype.”
• Did you know that the US Space Force has a public plan in place in case a satellite is attacked? It is all outlined in the recent Spacepower Doctrine for Space Forces, meant to address "why spacepower is vital for our Nation, how military spacepower is employed, who military space forces are, and what military space forces value."
• A decade ago was the first public news about GPS spoofing when Iran hijacked a US drone.
• Entangling photons and particles are easy, and researchers have even entangled drums. So how about quantum-entangled water bears?

As a final scary recap to 2021, consider these warning signs:

• Russia has been increasing their threats to GPS ahead of potential Ukraine invasion (which is 43% likely, according to the Economist), issuing a direct threat to blow up GPS satellites using their 'Star Warrior' anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles.
• In addition, there have been reports of recent GPS jamming of UAVs at the Ukrainian border and NATO exercises. This is a well-documented tool for Russia going back to the 2014 Ukraine conflict.
• Not to be outdone, China says its new ASAT missile can not only destroy but ‘melt down’ satellites using an anti-satellite robotic device that covertly places a “melt-cast explosive” on a satellite.
• China also launched a debris removal satellite that is rumored to be a "satellite crushing weapon."
• In addition to destroying, they also have the capability to capture or blind GPS satellites, and China reportedly also has ground-based anti-satellite lasers.
• “We’re really at a point now where there’s a whole host of ways that our space systems can be threatened,” admits US Space Force General David Thompson, and that our satellites are attacked "every day."
• As space gets more crowded, space debris also endangers GPS. it is estimated that "19% of tracked space objects threaten GPS," and a Galileo satellite had to perform a debris avoidance maneuver.
• But you don't have to go to space to threaten GPS. On the ground it is a weak signal susceptible to local spoofing, jamming and interference.
• "From downed drones to stolen quad bikes: a review of GNSS vulnerabilities in 2021" highlights GPS-related problems experienced by commercial aircraft, UAVs, cargo ships, drones, among many other incidents. If you want to help you can join the GNSS Vulnerabilities group.
• And the local timing infrastructure is also vulnerable, as demonstrated by an IBM hacker.
• The rest of the world has developed GPS replacement systems that make GPS more of a target, including China's BeiDou, Russia's GLONASS, Europe's Galileo, and UK's OneWeb, and are offering access to other countries.

The need for a timing replacement has never been greater.

To learn more, please email us or schedule a meeting here.