International Cospas-Sarsat Programme

International Cospas-Sarsat Program
Established1 July 1988; 36 years ago (1988-07-01) (Date definitive agreement was signed; preceding memorandums of understanding signed 23 November 1979 and 5 October 1984)
TypeIntergovernmental organization
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Membership
45 Formally associated "Participant" states
and agencies
Official languages
English
French
Russian
Head
Shefali Juneja
(Head of Secretariat)
Council Chair (rotating)
Henrik Smith (Canada)
Websitewww.cospas-sarsat.int
www.406.org
Logo as used until 1992

The International Cospas-Sarsat Programme is a satellite-aided search and rescue (SAR) initiative. It is organized as a treaty-based, nonprofit, intergovernmental, humanitarian cooperative of 45 nations and agencies (see infobox).[2] It is dedicated to detecting and locating emergency locator radio beacons activated by persons, aircraft or vessels in distress, and forwarding this alert information to authorities that can take action for rescue.[3][4][5] Member countries support the distribution of distress alerts using a constellation of around 65 satellites orbiting the Earth which carry transponders and signal processors capable of locating an emergency beacon anywhere on Earth transmitting on the Cospas-Sarsat frequency of 406 MHz.

Distress alerts are detected, located and forwarded to over 200 countries and territories at no cost to beacon owners or the receiving government agencies.[6] Cospas-Sarsat was conceived and initiated by Canada, France, the United States, and the former Soviet Union in 1979.[7] The first rescue using the technology of Cospas-Sarsat occurred on 10 September 1982; 42 years ago (1982-09-10).[8][9] The definitive agreement of the organization was signed by those four States as the "Parties" to the agreement on 1 July 1988.

The term Cospas-Sarsat derives from COSPAS (КОСПАС), an acronym from the transliterated Russian "Космическая Система Поиска Аварийных Судов" (Latin script: "Cosmicheskaya Sistema Poiska Avariynyh Sudov"), meaning "Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress", and SARSAT, an acronym for "Search And Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking".[10]

  1. ^ Galileo's Contribution to Cospas-Sarsat
  2. ^ Cospas-Sarsat website, Formally associated Participant states and agencies
  3. ^ International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement – UN Treaty Series (PDF)
  4. ^ Cospas-Sarsat website, "International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement" (PDF)
  5. ^ "Strategic Goals for the Cospas-Sarsat Programme", Cospas-Sarsat Strategic Plan (PDF), Cospas-Sarsat
  6. ^ Cospas-Sarsat website, "What is a Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz Beacon"
  7. ^ Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame inducted technology
  8. ^ The Washington Post, 30 September 1982, page A3
  9. ^ The Hartford Courant, 25 November 1982, page A6
  10. ^ "About the Programme - International COSPAS-SARSAT". www.cospas-sarsat.int. Retrieved 2022-12-21.