Description

🎙️ Global SAR Hub – The Podcast

Welcome to Global SAR Hub, the international podcast dedicated to the world of Search and Rescue (SAR).

From distress beacons to satellites, from RCCs to frontline responders, this series explores the technologies, operations, people and challenges behind global rescue efforts — at sea, in the air, and beyond.

🔍 In each episode, we dive deep into a core component of the SAR ecosystem. You’ll discover how systems like Cospas-Sarsat work, how RCCs coordinate missions across borders, and how innovation is transforming rescue operations around the world.

Hosted by Nicolas, a former watch supervisor with 25 years of experience in Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers (MRCCs), this podcast brings you insider perspectives and real-world insights. Alongside Arthur and Tanguy, co-founders of Global SAR Hub and seasoned SAR professionals, we take you behind the scenes of one of humanity’s most vital missions: saving lives.

🌐 Topics covered:

• Cospas-Sarsat system & 406 MHz beacons

• Satellite constellations: LEOSAR, MEOSAR, GEOSAR

• Doppler processing & geolocation

• RCC workflows and SITREP reporting

• Mass Rescue Operations (MRO)

• AI tools supporting SAR coordination

• Interviews with RCC staff, developers, and field rescuers

• Future of SAR: innovation, interoperability, and open data

🔧 Whether you’re a SAR operator, aviation or maritime professional, developer, policymaker, or simply curious about the systems that keep people safe — this podcast is for you.

🎯 Our mission: democratize access to critical SAR knowledge, highlight global practices, and foster international collaboration through accessible, well-crafted content.

This podcast is powered by AI and human expertise, based on rigorously written technical notes and field experience.

🛰️ Follow us to stay informed, stay prepared — and stay mission ready.

📩 Contact: contact@globalsarhub.com

🌍 Website: www.globalsarhub.com

📡 Produced by: Global SAR Hub

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

• #Nicolas

  Hi everyone and welcome to the Global Sur hub podcast. My name is Nicolas and I'm excited to be part of this adventure. I've spent 25 years working as a watch supervisor in maritime rescue coordination centers and it was back in 2020 during my assignment at MRCC fort de France that I had the chance to meet Arthur and Tanguy. This podcast was generated with the help of AI, based on a rigorously written technical briefing. Together, we are launching this series to explore one of the most extraordinary life-saving systems ever developed, COSPAS SARSAT. So, thank you for tuning in. Let's get started.

• Speaker #1

  It's amazing how many things are working behind the scenes, you know, just keeping us all safe. Absolutely. And we don't even really think about it all that much.

• Speaker #2

  It's true.

• Speaker #1

  And one of those things, I think, is this Cospas-Sarsat system and just the sheer number of people it's helped rescue. It's just astonishing, you know, over 60,000 people.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, it's remarkable when you think about it. You know, especially going back to the 1970s, trying to find someone, whether it was at sea or in the air after a crash. Right. It was a nightmare. Yeah. I mean, finding them was the biggest challenge.

• Speaker #1

  Yeah. I mean, what were some of the things that made it so difficult back then?

• Speaker #2

  Well, the technology just wasn't there. Yeah. You know, coverage was spotty at best. And even when you did get information, it wasn't very accurate. Right. And, of course, all that led to delays. And, unfortunately, in many cases... You know, those delays had tragic consequences.

• Speaker #1

  And, you know, you see that throughout history. Unfortunately, there were so many stories that really highlight just how much we needed a better system.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, absolutely.

• Speaker #1

  And so this idea of using satellites, it must have seemed, you know, almost like science fiction at the time.

• Speaker #2

  Oh, it was revolutionary for sure. Yeah. I mean, just to think instead of, you know, relying on ships or planes in a very limited area, now you could use these satellites to. to essentially listen for distress signals from anywhere in the world.

• Speaker #1

  Yeah. And what's even more incredible to me is that it wasn't just one country that made this happen. Right. It was this huge international collaboration.

• Speaker #2

  It really was an unprecedented partnership, especially given, you know, the political climate at the time. We're talking about the Cold War. Right. But you had these four nations, Canada, France, the United States and the Soviet Union. Wow. All coming together, driven by this common goal of saving lives. I mean, it's truly remarkable.

• Speaker #1

  Yeah, between 1979 and 1982, it all came together.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, that memorandum of understanding they signed in 1979 was a pivotal moment.

• Speaker #1

  It really was.

• Speaker #2

  It really set the stage for everything that followed.

• Speaker #1

  And of course, that's where we get those two names that have really become synonymous with search and rescue, COSPAS and SARSAT.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. COSPAS stands for, I believe it's a Russian acronym, but it essentially means space system for the search of vessels in distress. Right. And then you have SARSAT. which comes to the other three nations and stands for search and rescue satellite-aided tracking.

• Speaker #1

  So you've got these two systems kind of coming together.

• Speaker #2

  Working together, exactly.

• Speaker #1

  Yeah. And of course, it wasn't just a matter of, you know, coming up with the idea and signing a piece of paper. No. You had to actually build it, test it, make sure it worked.

• Speaker #2

  Absolutely.

• Speaker #1

  So what happened after that initial agreement?

• Speaker #2

  Well, they got to work right away in between 1982 and 1985. It was all about testing, validating the system.

• Speaker #1

  Right.

• Speaker #2

  In June of 1982. The Soviets launched Cosmos 1383, which was the first COSPAS satellite. Okay. And then less than a year later, in March of 83, the first SARSAT satellite, NOAA-8, went up carrying instruments from both Canada and France.

• Speaker #1

  So you have both systems now up in space.

• Speaker #2

  That's right. And eager to prove their worth.

• Speaker #1

  And it didn't take long for them to show just how effective they could be.

• Speaker #2

  No, it didn't. In September of 1982, just a few months after Cosmos 1383 launched. Okay. There was this small plane crash in British Columbia. Okay. And the satellite actually picked up the signal from the plane's 121.5 megahertz beacon. Wow. And they were able to rescue three people thanks to that.

• Speaker #1

  That's incredible. I mean, that must have been just amazing proof that this whole idea actually worked.

• Speaker #2

  Oh, absolutely. It was a spectacular validation of the concept and the technology.

• Speaker #1

  So it was successful, but there were some limitations, right?

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, you know, it relied on these existing frequencies, 121.5 and 243 megahertz. Right. And as great as that initial success was, those frequencies did have some inherent drawbacks.

• Speaker #1

  Okay, let's dig into that a bit. What made those older frequencies less than ideal for, you know, this kind of life or death situation? Well,

• Speaker #2

  for starters, the power output of those beacons was pretty low. Okay. We're talking about like 100 milliwatts. Okay. So very weak signals. Got it. And that meant they could easily get lost or... be difficult for the satellites to pick up, especially over long distances, or if there was any kind of interference.

• Speaker #1

  So it's almost like, you know, trying to whisper to someone across a crowded room.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly.

• Speaker #1

  It's going to be hard to hear.

• Speaker #2

  Right. And then on top of that, these were analog signals. Okay. Which are much more susceptible to interference. So it could be hard to distinguish a real distress call from just all the background noise.

• Speaker #1

  So you're trying to find this faint whisper and all this other noise.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. And then, you know, the location data that we could get from these signals wasn't very precise. Okay. So you knew someone was in trouble, but you didn't necessarily know exactly where they were. Right. Which obviously made it much harder to find them.

• Speaker #1

  It's like knowing that someone somewhere needs help. Right. But you don't have their address.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. Yeah. And to make matters even worse, there was no way to automatically identify who was sending the alert.

• Speaker #1

  So you don't know who it is, where they are, and the signal might not even be that strong. Yeah. That's a lot of challenges.

• Speaker #2

  It was a real hurdle for effective search and rescue.

• Speaker #1

  So that brings us to the 1980s and 1990s. Right. And the introduction of this new frequency, 406 megahertz.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, this was a game changer, a monumental leap forward.

• Speaker #1

  So what made this new frequency so much better?

• Speaker #2

  Well, several things. First, the power output was significantly higher instead of milliwatts. We're talking about five watts typically. Okay,

• Speaker #1

  so a lot stronger.

• Speaker #2

  Much stronger, more reliable signals that the satellites could pick up much more easily.

• Speaker #1

  That makes a big difference.

• Speaker #2

  Huge difference. But maybe even more important was the fact that they switched to a digital message format. Yeah. Okay. So these new 406 megahertz beacons would transmit a digital burst that included a unique identifier called a hex ID.

• Speaker #1

  A hex ID. What is that?

• Speaker #2

  It's essentially a digital fingerprint for the beacon. It's like a license plate. Okay. And this ID can be used to access a registration database that had all this vital information about the vessel or the aircraft. Okay. The owner, the emergency concept, all kinds of stuff.

• Speaker #1

  So now it's not just knowing someone needs help. Right. You know who it is.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. You know who you're looking for. Right. Which made search efforts much faster and more effective.

• Speaker #1

  I mean, that must save so much time.

• Speaker #2

  Absolutely. It was revolutionary. It's like the difference between getting an anonymous 911 call and one where the caller can tell you exactly who they are and where they are.

• Speaker #1

  That's a big difference.

• Speaker #2

  Huge difference. And beyond that, 406 megahertz also offered much greater stability. Okay. Which was really important for getting. accurate locations using something called the Doppler effect.

• Speaker #1

  The Doppler effect.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah. Have you ever noticed how the sound of a siren changes as it passes you? Uh-huh. That's the Doppler effect. It's the change in frequency of a wave as the source and the observer move relative to each other. So in this case, as the satellite is passing overhead, it can listen to the beacon signal. and analyze how the frequency changes slightly. And using that information, it can calculate a much more precise location for the beacon.

• Speaker #1

  So it's using the movement of the satellite and the beacon? Exactly. To figure out where the beacon is?

• Speaker #2

  That's right. And to top it all off, many of these new 406 megahertz beacons could actually include their GPS position directly in the message.

• Speaker #1

  Okay, so that's even more accurate.

• Speaker #2

  Pinpoint accuracy right from the source.

• Speaker #1

  So higher power digital ID. Better location accuracy, all thanks to this 406 megahertz technology.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, it was a complete overhaul of the system's capabilities.

• Speaker #1

  So it's no surprise that they decided to make it the official standard.

• Speaker #2

  Right. In 1985, the 406 megahertz system became fully operational. Okay. But it wasn't just about the technology. It was also about formalizing the international cooperation. Right. So in 1988, they signed the International Kaspas-Sarsat Program, which officially established the program. and made it easier for more countries to join and contribute.

• Speaker #1

  So now it's really a global effort.

• Speaker #2

  A truly global life-saving network.

• Speaker #1

  So you have these Leosar satellites, you know, in low Earth orbit listening for these 406 megahertz signals, but there's still that issue of the delay, isn't there?

• Speaker #2

  That's right, because these satellites are constantly moving. Right. You have to wait for one to pass overhead before it can pick up a signal.

• Speaker #1

  So how do they solve that?

• Speaker #2

  Well, that's where GEOSAR comes in.

• Speaker #1

  GEOSAR?

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, it stands for Geostationary Search and Rescue. Okay. And it involved... putting COSPASARSAT receivers on geostationary satellites.

• Speaker #1

  Now, those are the ones that stay in the same position relative to the Earth, right?

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. They orbit much higher up and they stay fixed over a particular spot.

• Speaker #1

  Okay. So how does that help with the detection time? Well,

• Speaker #2

  because they're always looking at the same area. Right. They could pick up a 406 megahertz signal almost immediately.

• Speaker #1

  Oh, so no more waiting.

• Speaker #2

  No more waiting near instantaneous detection.

• Speaker #1

  I bet that's a huge advantage in those, you know. those emergency situations.

• Speaker #2

  It's a game changer, especially when every second counts.

• Speaker #1

  There must be a trade-off, right? Nothing's perfect.

• Speaker #2

  Well, the trade-off with GeoSAR is that because it's stationary, it can't use the Doppler effect to calculate location.

• Speaker #1

  Right, because it's not moving.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. So it can tell you that a beacon has been activated. Okay. but it can't necessarily tell you exactly where it is unless the beacon itself is transmitting a gps position interesting so it's faster but potentially less accurate in a way yes unless the beacon has its own gps okay so you've got leosar you've got geosar working together and

• Speaker #1

  then of course this

• Speaker #2

  406 megahertz technology really takes over yep those older frequencies 121.5 and 243 megahertz right they just couldn't keep up

• Speaker #1

  So what happened to them?

• Speaker #2

  Well, they tried to make some improvements over the years. Okay. But the fundamental problems just wouldn't go away. Like what? Well, there were just too many false alerts, which wasted a lot of time and resources. Right. The location accuracy was still poor. Okay. And you still couldn't tell who was sending the signal.

• Speaker #1

  So it sounds like they were just not reliable enough.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. So in the end, they decided to phase them out completely. Okay. On February 1st, 2009, Kaspa Sarsat officially stopped monitoring those older frequencies.

• Speaker #1

  Wow. I mean, after all that time relying on them, that must have been a big decision.

• Speaker #2

  It was, but it was the right decision. The technology had simply moved on.

• Speaker #1

  So are those frequencies still used at all today?

• Speaker #2

  Well, 121.5 megahertz still has a limited role. Okay. Mainly in that last stage of a rescue. Okay. Like once they've narrowed down the search area. Okay. Rescue teams might use handheld direction framing equipment to home in on a 121.5 megahertz signal. Okay. That a lot of modern 406 megahertz beacons also transmit. It's a short range signal. Got it. Just for that final pinpointing.

• Speaker #1

  Okay. So it's not for the initial alert.

• Speaker #2

  No, that's all 406 megahertz now. Got it. As for 243 megahertz, it's completely obsolete.

• Speaker #1

  So it's all about 406 megahertz in these different satellite systems.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah. And the latest and greatest addition is MEOSAR.

• Speaker #1

  MEOSAR.

• Speaker #2

  It stands for Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue.

• Speaker #1

  Okay.

• Speaker #2

  And it's really the next generation of COSPASARSAT.

• Speaker #1

  So what's so special about MEOSAR?

• Speaker #2

  Well, it uses these navigation satellite constellations that you've probably heard of, like GPS, Galileo, GLONASS. But instead of just providing location data, they also have these special search and rescue payloads. Got it. So it's like combining the best of LEOSAR and GEOSAR.

• Speaker #1

  Really?

• Speaker #2

  How so? Well,

• Speaker #1

  first of all, it offers continuous global coverage, just like GEOSAR. Okay. But it also provides near instantaneous detection.

• Speaker #2

  So you get the speed.

• Speaker #1

  You get the speed. And here's the really cool part. It can locate a beacon, even if that beacon doesn't have its own GPS.

• Speaker #2

  What, really?

• Speaker #1

  Yeah, it uses these advanced triangulation techniques. Okay. By measuring the tiny differences in when the signal reaches different satellites and how the frequency shifts slightly due to the beacon's movement. Got it. It can calculate the location without needing the GPS coordinates from the beacon itself.

• Speaker #2

  That's amazing. There's like the system is figuring out the location on its own.

• Speaker #1

  Exactly.

• Speaker #2

  That's incredible.

• Speaker #1

  It's a game changer for accuracy and speed.

• Speaker #2

  Especially for older beacons or, you know, situations where GPS might not be working.

• Speaker #1

  Absolutely. And because it uses multiple different navigation systems.

• Speaker #2

  It's also incredibly resilient and reliable.

• Speaker #1

  So when did this Miosar system come online?

• Speaker #2

  It reached full operational capability around 2018.

• Speaker #1

  So pretty recently.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah. And it's already making a huge difference.

• Speaker #1

  It's just amazing to see how far we've come, you know, from those early days with limited technology and all those challenges.

• Speaker #2

  It really is a testament to human ingenuity and the power of international cooperation.

• Speaker #1

  And it's saved so many lives.

• Speaker #2

  Over 60,000 lives aided and rescued since 1982.

• Speaker #1

  That's an incredible legacy.

• Speaker #2

  It is. And the system is still evolving. You know, they're constantly working to make it even better.

• Speaker #1

  To save even more lives.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly. Faster and more efficiently.

• Speaker #1

  And that's why it's so important to talk about these things. Absolutely. Because most people probably don't even realize that this system exists. Right. But it's there working silently in the background.

• Speaker #2

  Always ready.

• Speaker #1

  Protecting us.

• Speaker #2

  Exactly.

• Speaker #1

  It makes you wonder what other vital systems are out there that we don't even think about.

• Speaker #2

  It really does. And it makes you appreciate the power of collaboration and innovation. You know, when people from all over the world come together to solve a problem.

• Speaker #1

  And that's what makes this whole story so inspiring.

• Speaker #2

  Absolutely.

• Speaker #1

  It's a reminder that we can achieve incredible things when we work together.

• Speaker #2

  Couldn't agree more.

• Speaker #1

  So next time you're out there, you know, on a hike or on a boat or in a plane, just remember that this system is there for you.

• Speaker #2

  It is. And it's a good reminder to make sure your beacon is registered and up to date.

• Speaker #1

  Absolutely good advice. That's something we can explore in our next deep dive.

• Speaker #2

  Yeah, we could talk about all the latest advancements in search and rescue technology, or maybe even. delve into the history of some of those early rescues.

• Speaker #1

  I like it.

• Speaker #2

  There are some amazing stories out there.

• Speaker #1

  So much to explore.

• Speaker #2

  So much.

• Speaker #1

  Until next time.

• Speaker #2

  See you then.

• #Nicolas

  And that brings us to the end of this very first episode of the Global Startup Podcast. Thanks for listening. Until next time. In the next episode, we'll dive into the beating heart of the system. How our satellites, beacons and ground stations work together to turn a distress signal into a rescue. This podcast was powered by AI, based on a rigorously written technical briefing.