Latest Cospas-Sarsat Stories
SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty years ago today the premier launch of the Advanced TIROS-N satellite series carried a very special hosted payload aboard - the first Search and Rescue (SAR) payload on a U.S. satellite. The satellite, NOAA-E, was designed and built at the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) (then RCA Astrospace Division) facility in East Windsor, N.J. To date, over 33,000 lives have been saved as a direct result of the Search and Rescue...
ESA The first switch-on of a Galileo search and rescue package shows it to be working well. Its activation begins a major expansion of the space-based Cospas–Sarsat network, which brings help to air and sea vessels in distress. The second pair of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites – launched together on 12 October last year – are the first of the constellation to host SAR search and rescue repeaters. These can pick up UHF signals from emergency beacons aboard ships and...
The two Galileo satellites and their upper stage have been enclosed within their protective fairing, and moved to join the Soyuz rocket on the launch pad. The halves of the fairing were sealed together around the satellites, their supporting dispenser and Fregat-MT upper stage on Friday, within the Upper Composite Integration Stand of building S3B of Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Yesterday, the Upper Composite was moved to the launch site, for vertical mating to its three-stage...
The global reach of Europe’s Galileo navigation system is being harnessed to pinpoint distress calls for rapid search and rescue. A major expansion of the humanitarian system will be tested over the next two years to make it even more effective. After rowing the Atlantic for 27 days, the six-man Atlantic Odyssey Sara G team suddenly capsized. The morning of 30 January saw them 800 km from land, clinging to their lifeboat in rough seas – but their distress call was detected from orbit....
CHATSWORTH, Calif., Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With most countries in the world mandating 406 MHz as the international standard for emergency locator transmitters (ELTs), the U.S. is not far behind. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) announcement in January 2012 that it will cancel the Technical Standard Order (TSO) governing the manufacturing of ELT equipment--most likely by the end of this year--will halt the production of units that broadcast on 121.5 MHz. (Photo:...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics C4 Systems has received a $12.7 million contract from the Australian Defence Force to provide AN/PRC-112G® GPS-enabled search and rescue radios and accessories. Part of the HOOK2® System, the AN/PRC-112G radio sends encrypted global positioning information, user identification, situation reports and other critical information to combat search and rescue aircraft in short bursts to reduce the risk of detection and...
Wearing an antenna – without anyone knowing – is making a splash in the world of search and rescue. ESA has provided research and development guidance to Finnish company Patria, with the help of Tampere University of Technology, in designing a search and rescue radio antenna that can be sewn into a life vest. Made from highly flexible, lightweight material that is robust against water exposure and moist conditions, and resistant to wear and tear, this special antenna has been...
Personal locator beacon proves essential to teen hikersA NOAA geostationary satellite played a pivotal role in the July 23 rescue of a group of student hikers from a vicious grizzly bear attack in Alaska, helping direct first responders to the scene. The teenagers were hiking through the Alaska wilderness and crossing a creek about 93 miles north of Anchorage when the bear attacked. Of the four teens injured by the attack, two required hospitalization.Other members of the hiking troop...
It has been almost six months since 16-year-old Abby Sunderland's 40-foot vessel, Wild Eyes, was damaged in a storm, leaving her stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean. But on Monday, she finally got a chance to meet the people who developed the technology used to save her life.Abby visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on Oct. 25 to meet Search and Rescue Manager Dave Affens and a team of engineers. He and his team developed the Search and Rescue Satellite...
NASA, which pioneered the technology used for the satellite-aided search and rescue capability that has saved more than 27,000 lives worldwide since its inception nearly three decades ago, has developed new technology that will more quickly identify the locations of people in distress and reduce the risk of rescuers.The Search and Rescue Mission Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in collaboration with several government agencies, has developed a next-generation...
