1.1 Purpose
This document introduces potential users to the Cospas-Sarsat[1] System (the System): a satellite-based beacon alert communication system for the support of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations around the world. The System uses spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons carried on boats, on aircraft, and by individuals. The distress alert information, including the position of the distress beacon and other related information (such as the information provided when the beacon was registered), is sent by Cospas-Sarsat to the appropriate SAR authorities. Figure 1‑1 shows an Emergency Technician and the man he rescued, holding the beacon that brought help to him.
Figure 1‑1: After the Rescue
This illustration shows the Emergency Technician and the rescued victim.
Note that the victim is holding the 406 MHz beacon that called the help for
him.
Distress beacons include Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs, for use on aircraft), Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs, for use on ships), and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs, for use in multiple environments by individuals). As shown in Figure 1‑2, these beacons transmit 406 MHz signals that are received by search and rescue instruments on the satellites used by the System. These signals are relayed to the receiving stations of the Cospas-Sarsat Ground Segment, called Local User Terminals (LUTs), which process the signals to extract the beacon identification data and to determine the location of the beacon. Each LUT is associated with a Mission Control Center (MCC), to which the alert data is forwarded and then relayed, through a data distribution network of MCCs, to the appropriate SAR point of contact (SPOC), Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC), or other authority, who is then responsible for the necessary search and rescue activities.
Figure 1‑2: Flow of Information
This illustration shows the flow of information
through the
Cospas-Sarsat System after a 406 beacon is activated.
[1] The system name is made up of two acronyms:
· COSPAS: Acronym for “Cosmicheskaya Sistyema Poiska Avariynich Sudov”, meaning “Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress”, as transliterated from the Cyrillic “Космическая система поиска аварийных судов”.
· SARSAT: Acronym for “Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking”.