Rescue Satellite News

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration and remembrance. Three years ago, on December 31, 2019, as the new year was being rung in across the lower 48 states, a tragedy was playing out in icy Alaskan waters. The fishing vessel Scandies Rose, with seven crew members aboard, encountered severe icing conditions and high winds and waves as it transited from Kodiak to fishing grounds in the Bering Sea. The crabber tried to make it to Sutwik Island to shelter from the storm; however…

A 67-year-old man adrift for several weeks on board a disabled sailboat was rescued hundreds of miles miles off the coast of Alaska with help from a 984-foot containership and the U.S. Coast Guard.At approximately 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Coast Guard District 17 command center watchstanders received a distress alert from the sailing vessel Miss Lilly, in which the man aboard reported his vessel to be disabled and adrift roughly 500 nautical miles south-southwest of Dutch Harbor, and…

McMurdo, the most trusted name in emergency readiness and response and a division of Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris – FR0010501015 – ALORO), has been selected by a leading Northern Africa search and rescue (SAR) authority to deploy their next-generation MEOSAR (Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) satellite-aided SAR system. The contract is valued at over €4M (US$4.5M) with a performance period of 16 months. The MEOSAR system, which is the first of its kind in Africa, will include satellite ground stations and mission control and rescue coordination centers. It will also include McMurdo’s new Reference Beacon, which will provide ground system operators with configuration tools…

McMurdo  has announced PRISMA Connect, a web-based integrated fleet management system that connects ship to shore in real-time for improved communication and operational efficiencies, as well as increased crew productivity with two-way messaging and electronic forms capture. The innovative system, which is based on proven Boatracs BTConnect and BTVessel software, is the first product announcement under McMurdo’s new suite of PRISMA (Preparation, Response, Identification, Surveillance, Management, Acceleration) software solutions.

Last year, 240 people were saved from potentially life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters with help from NOAA’s fleet of weather satellites. In addition to their role in weather forecasting, NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites can detect distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers. Information captured from these satellites, including location, are then relayed to first responders on the ground who assist with search and rescue efforts.

The same NOAA satellites that helped forecasters predict severe weather, such as the Moore, Okla., tornado last May and November’s deadly Midwest tornado outbreak, also played a key role in rescuing 253 people from potentially life-threatening scenarios throughout the United States and its surrounding waters last year. A combination of NOAA polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites detected distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers and relayed information about their location to first responders on the ground.

The Coast Guard rescued an Air National Guard pilot Friday after his plane went down approximately 35 miles southeast of Chincoteague. Coast Guard 5th District Command Center watchstanders received notification via an automated Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking distress signal from an ejection seat registered to an Air National Guard plane at approximately 11:50 p.m. Thursday. The Navy's Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach contacted Coast Guard watchstanders and confirmed two 113th Wing D.C. Air National Guard F-16C Falcon jets were involved in a mid-air collision. One pilot ejected while the second Falcon flew back to Joint Base Andrews, Md.

Marine communication and safety specialist Ocean Signal presents what they call the world’s smallest personal locator beacon at this year’s Seawork International, through U.K. distributors International Safety Products. Following receipt of certifications for use throughout Europe and the U.S. in April, the rescueME PLB1 is now available from Ocean Signal’s worldwide network of distributors. The easy-to-use, 116g rescueME PLB1, with dimensions of 77mm (height), 51mm (width) and 32.5mm (depth), is suited for a range of applications in the commercial market.

The same NOAA weather and climate satellites that accurately tracked Hurricane Sandy’s path in October also played a key role in rescuing 263 people in 111 emergencies in the United States and surrounding waters in 2012. Since NOAA’s seven operational satellites circle the globe or sit above the United States, they also carry instruments to detect distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers. In addition to their role in weather prediction…

Galileo’s search and rescue system (SAR) passes first space test to begin major expansion of the Cospas–Sarsat network. 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 aircraft or carried by individuals, then pass them on to local authorities for rescue. Cospas is a Russian acronym for ‘Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress’…

In 2011, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 207 people from life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters. The satellites picked up distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers, and relayed the information about their location to first responders on the ground. NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT.

1820-On 29 June 1820 the Revenue cutter Dallas captured the 12-gun brig-of-war General Ramirez, which was loaded with 280 slaves, off St. Augustine. The 8 July 1820 issue of theSavannah Republican noted: "On the 28th ultimo, while the Cutter DALLAS was lying in the St. Mary's River, Captain Jackson received information that the Brig of war GENERAL RAMIREZ, supposed to be a piratical vessel was hovering off St. Augustine. The Cutter forthwith got under way in pursuit of the Brig having first obtained 12 United States soldiers from Fernandina to strengthen the Cutter's force. At half past three the next day, she hailed the Brig and received for answer…

1820-On 29 June 1820 the Revenue cutter Dallas captured the 12-gun brig-of-war General Ramirez, which was loaded with 280 slaves, off St. Augustine. "On the 28th ultimo, while the Cutter DALLAS was lying in the St. Mary's River, Captain Jackson received information that the Brig of war GENERAL RAMIREZ, supposed to be a piratical vessel was hovering off St. Augustine. The Cutter forthwith got under way in pursuit of the Brig having first obtained 12 United States soldiers from Fernandina to strengthen the Cutter's force. At half past three the next day, she hailed the Brig and received for answer, "This is the Patriot Brig GENERAL RAMIREZ----." Captain Jackson finding a number of blacks on board took possession of the vessel and brought her into St. Mary's, arriving on the 1st instant.