Cospas-Sarsat System Overview

Cospas-Sarsat is a satellite system designed to provide distress alert and location data to assist search and rescue (SAR) operations, using spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate the signals of distress beacons operating on 406 Megahertz (MHz) or 121.5 MHz. The position of the distress and other related information is forwarded to the appropriate Search and Rescue Point of Contact (SPOC) through the Cospas-Sarsat Mission Control Center (MCC) network. The goal of the System is to support all organizations in the world with responsibility for SAR operations, whether at sea, in the air or on land.

The Cospas-Sarsat System provides distress alert and location data to Rescue Coordination Centers (RCCs), for 121.5 MHz beacons within the coverage area of Cospas-Sarsat ground stations (Local User Terminals - LUTs), and for 406 MHz beacons activated anywhere in the world.

Click here for a brief description of the concept of operation;

For a more detailed description of the Cospas-Sarsat System see document C/S G.003 "Introduction to the Cospas-Sarsat System".

Operational use of Cospas-Sarsat by SAR agencies started with the crash of a light aircraft in Canada, in which three people were rescued (September 10, 1982). Since then, the System has been used for thousands of SAR events and has been instrumental in the rescue of over 22,000 lives worldwide.