EPIRB3 USER MANUAL
4
912S-03967 - 01.01
14/11/2022
1.
ABOUT YOUR EPIRB
1.1 COSPAS/SARSAT System
The basic Cospas-Sarsat concept is illustrated in the figure below.
The System is composed of:
•
distress radio beacons (ELTs for aviation use, EPIRBs for maritime use, and
PLBs for personal use) which transmit signals during distress situations
•
instruments on board satellites in geostationary and low-altitude Earth
orbits which detect the signals transmitted by distress radio beacons
•
ground receiving stations, referred to as Local User Terminals (LUTs), which
receive and process the satellite downlink signal to generate distress alerts
•
Mission Control Centers (MCCs) which receive alerts produced by LUTs and
forward them to Rescue Coordination Centers (RCCs), Search and Rescue
Points Of Contacts (SPOCs) or other MCCs
The Cospas-Sarsat System includes two types of satellites:
•
satellites in low-altitude Earth orbit (LEO) which form the LEOSAR System
•
satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) which form the GEOSAR System
The future Cospas-Sarsat System will include a new type of satellite in the medium-al-
titude Earth orbit (MEO) which will form the MEOSAR System. The EPIRB3 is fully
compatible with the new MEOSAR satellites.
