Cospas-Sarsat

Satellites helping keep Canadians safe

Canada is a founding partner of Cospas-Sarsat - an international satellite system that helps save lives by providing alert and location information to search-and-rescue services throughout the world.

The system has helped save 14,000 lives since it began operations in 1982. About 100 people per month are rescued from distress situations ranging from plane crashes and boating accidents to hiking mishaps. More than 1,000 of them have been Canadians.

For example, in January 2002, a hunter was travelling from Igloolik to Hall Beach, Nunavut, in Canada's north, when his snowmobile broke down. He quickly activated his Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), a device which many northern hunters carry as a safety precaution. The signal was then picked up via satellite by Cospas-Sarsat and the hunter was rescued by the local RCMP. Chances are, the person wouldn't have survived the rest of the trip on foot.

The creation

In the mid-1970s Canada conducted experiments with the space agencies of the U.S. and France that led to the creation of a satellite-aided search-and-rescue system. The proof-of-concept demonstration was carried out in 1976 at the Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC), using a modified distress beacon operating through an amateur radio satellite.

Cospas-Sarsat was founded in 1979, when the then-U.S.S.R. joined with Canada, France and the U.S. "Sarsat" is an acronym for "Search-And-Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking," while "Cospas" is the Russian equivalent. Today, the four original partners provide and operate the satellites and ground segment equipment; 23 other countries provide and operate ground stations, and 9 others help manage the system. In Canada, the ground stations and Mission Control Centre (MCC) are operated by the Department of National Defence and Canada's participation in the Cospas-Sarsat System is co-ordinated by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.

How the system works

One of three types of radio beacons transmits signals during distress situations. Instruments onboard geostationary and low-Earth-orbit satellites detect the signals. The ground-receiving stations, referred to as Local Users Terminals (LUTs), then receive and process the satellite downlink signal to generate distress alerts that are forwarded to MCCs, Rescue Co-ordination Centres, Search-and-Rescue-Points-Of-Contacts or other MCCs.

First rescue

The first rescue using Cospas-Sarsat took place near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, in 1982 - just days after the first satellite was launched. A pilot and two passengers were rescued from a plane crash. The signal was received using the world's first ground station, which was designed and built by Canadian industry and located at CRC in Ottawa.

Canada's continuing contributions

Canadian companies are still major equipment suppliers for the Cospas-Sarsat system. LUTs made in Canada have been sold to other countries and currently operate on six continents. Canadian industry has also built 13 SAR repeaters (they receive 121.5, 243 and 406 MHz beacon signals and immediately retransmit them on the satellite downlink), the design of which is being updated for launches after 2010.

Canada was also a major player in the development of the 406 MHz geostationary satellite system, known as GEOSAR, which enhanced the initial LEOSAR system that Cospas-Sarsat used in the 1990s. Currently, Canada is participating in the development of the new Galileo satellite system, which could further improve search and rescue for the 21st century.

Research that was done in Canada over two decades ago continues to save lives today. Cospas-Sarsat commemorates its 20th Anniversary in 2002 with an international celebration.

For more information, please contact Jim King.