C/S G.003 - INTRODUCTION TO THE COSPAS-SARSAT SYSTEM Issue 7

Since its original implementation in 1984, the Cospas-Sarsat System has grown and improved.
Figure 6‑1 shows some of the improvements in performance in the detection of 406 MHz beacons. (The original performance of the System, to locate a 121.5 MHz beacon within 20 km, is not shown on these maps.) Figure 6‑2 illustrates the growth of the System over the first 30 years of operations.

Figure 6‑2: Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz Distress Beacons

This illustration shows the growth of the number of 406 MHz Distress Beacons that have been operational during the first thirty years of the Cospas-Sarsat System.