Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 19th 08, 07:55 PM
NOAA
Washington, D.C.
Media Contact:
John Leslie, 301-713-2087 ext. 174
January 17, 2008
NOAA Satellites Help Rescue 353 People in 2007
Emergency Beacons to Soon Operate Under New Frequency
Armed with personal locator beacons to send a distress signal, 353 people
were rescued in the United States and its surrounding waters in 2007 from
potentially life-threatening emergencies. These signals were transmitted to
rescue teams via a NOAA environmental satellite more commonly known for
providing information to weather forecasters.
NOAA's polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, along with Russia's
Cospas spacecraft, are part of the high-tech, international Search and
Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system
uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals
from emergency beacons on board aircraft and boats and from handheld
personal locator beacons (PLBs).
Now in its 25th year of operation, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with more
than 22,000 rescues worldwide, including more than 5,700 in the United
States and its surrounding waters.
"Each person rescued was a tragedy averted," Mary Kicza, assistant
administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "This
satellite-based rescue program is a key NOAA contribution to protecting
American lives."
When a satellite pinpoints a distress location within the United States, or
its surrounding waters, the information is relayed to SARSAT Mission Control
at NOAA's Satellite Operations Center in Suitland, Md., and then sent to a
Rescue Coordination Center, operated either by the U.S. Air Force, for land
rescues, or U.S. Coast Guard, for water rescues.
Alaska and Florida recorded the most rescues in 2007 -- 73 each. North
Carolina was third with 16 rescues. Twenty-four states experienced a SARSAT
rescue. Of the 353 rescues for 2007, 235 people were saved at sea, 30 were
rescued from downed aircraft, and 88 were saved with help from their PLBs --
the highest total since PLBs became operational nationwide in 2003. The
total rescues in 2007 mark an increase from 272 the previous year.
"Anyone with plans to hike, or camp, in a remote area, where cell phone
service is not reliable, or sail a boat far from shore, should not leave
home without an emergency locator beacon, registered with NOAA," said Chris
O'Conners, acting program manager for NOAA SARSAT. He added the number of
beacon registrations in 2007 climbed to 29,710 compared with 23,383 in 2006.
Urgency Noted in Changeover to 406 Frequency
Older emergency beacons, which operate on the 121.5 and 243 megahertz
frequencies, will be phased out by early 2009, when 406 megahertz beacons
will become the new standard. A key advantage of some the 406 megahertz
beacons is they use Global Positioning System technology for instant
detection, leading to faster rescues.
All of the rescues in 2007 from emergency locator transmitters carried on
planes, used the older 121.5 MHz frequency. But beginning February 1, 2009,
this 121.5 MHz signal will not be processed. "It's critical that everyone
gets the message now to make the switch to the 406 MHz beacons," added
O'Conners.
2007 SARSAT Rescue Highlights
* Four people were rescued in Lake Michigan, when a powerful storm knocked
out communications to their boat, which was running low on fuel.
* Near Kanatak, Alaska, four people and a dog were pulled to safety from
their sinking boat;
* Three people were rescued after their raft capsized in the rough rapids of
the Green River in northeast Utah.
* A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoisted three people from 70-foot high seas,
after their boat sank 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina.
* A 71-year-old hiker, too exhausted to continue his outdoor trek along the
Pacific Crest Trail, was rescued in Wrightwood, Calif.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and
national safety through the prediction and research of weather and
climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation,
and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and
marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of
Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70
countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network
that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080117_sarsat.html ]
Washington, D.C.
Media Contact:
John Leslie, 301-713-2087 ext. 174
January 17, 2008
NOAA Satellites Help Rescue 353 People in 2007
Emergency Beacons to Soon Operate Under New Frequency
Armed with personal locator beacons to send a distress signal, 353 people
were rescued in the United States and its surrounding waters in 2007 from
potentially life-threatening emergencies. These signals were transmitted to
rescue teams via a NOAA environmental satellite more commonly known for
providing information to weather forecasters.
NOAA's polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, along with Russia's
Cospas spacecraft, are part of the high-tech, international Search and
Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system
uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals
from emergency beacons on board aircraft and boats and from handheld
personal locator beacons (PLBs).
Now in its 25th year of operation, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with more
than 22,000 rescues worldwide, including more than 5,700 in the United
States and its surrounding waters.
"Each person rescued was a tragedy averted," Mary Kicza, assistant
administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "This
satellite-based rescue program is a key NOAA contribution to protecting
American lives."
When a satellite pinpoints a distress location within the United States, or
its surrounding waters, the information is relayed to SARSAT Mission Control
at NOAA's Satellite Operations Center in Suitland, Md., and then sent to a
Rescue Coordination Center, operated either by the U.S. Air Force, for land
rescues, or U.S. Coast Guard, for water rescues.
Alaska and Florida recorded the most rescues in 2007 -- 73 each. North
Carolina was third with 16 rescues. Twenty-four states experienced a SARSAT
rescue. Of the 353 rescues for 2007, 235 people were saved at sea, 30 were
rescued from downed aircraft, and 88 were saved with help from their PLBs --
the highest total since PLBs became operational nationwide in 2003. The
total rescues in 2007 mark an increase from 272 the previous year.
"Anyone with plans to hike, or camp, in a remote area, where cell phone
service is not reliable, or sail a boat far from shore, should not leave
home without an emergency locator beacon, registered with NOAA," said Chris
O'Conners, acting program manager for NOAA SARSAT. He added the number of
beacon registrations in 2007 climbed to 29,710 compared with 23,383 in 2006.
Urgency Noted in Changeover to 406 Frequency
Older emergency beacons, which operate on the 121.5 and 243 megahertz
frequencies, will be phased out by early 2009, when 406 megahertz beacons
will become the new standard. A key advantage of some the 406 megahertz
beacons is they use Global Positioning System technology for instant
detection, leading to faster rescues.
All of the rescues in 2007 from emergency locator transmitters carried on
planes, used the older 121.5 MHz frequency. But beginning February 1, 2009,
this 121.5 MHz signal will not be processed. "It's critical that everyone
gets the message now to make the switch to the 406 MHz beacons," added
O'Conners.
2007 SARSAT Rescue Highlights
* Four people were rescued in Lake Michigan, when a powerful storm knocked
out communications to their boat, which was running low on fuel.
* Near Kanatak, Alaska, four people and a dog were pulled to safety from
their sinking boat;
* Three people were rescued after their raft capsized in the rough rapids of
the Green River in northeast Utah.
* A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoisted three people from 70-foot high seas,
after their boat sank 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina.
* A 71-year-old hiker, too exhausted to continue his outdoor trek along the
Pacific Crest Trail, was rescued in Wrightwood, Calif.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and
national safety through the prediction and research of weather and
climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation,
and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and
marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of
Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70
countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network
that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080117_sarsat.html ]