COSPAS-SARSAT System

The COSPAS-SARSAT is an international satellite system for search and rescue consisting of a constellation of satellites (both in polar and geostationary orbits) and a network of ground stations. This system provides distress alert and location information to respective Search and Rescue (SAR) authorities for maritime, aviation and land users in distress. The global coverage of polar orbiting satellites, and the universal need to improve SAR services, have led to the active international interest and wide participation in space based search and rescue operations. The USA, Canada and France jointly developed a system, called SARSAT in the seventies, using NOAA satellites. The Russians also developed similar system, known as COSPAS. One of the characteristics of these satellites in a low polar orbits is that it could view the entire globe, once every twelve hours. The contact time with any one area is, however, relatively short. But, the waiting time to detect the distress signal is significantly reduced, by employing more than one satellite in the given orbit. Deploying four satellites in orbit, the mean waiting time is approximately an hour only. With the formalization of the COSPAS-SARSAT program in November 1979, inter-operability between the two systems was established.