Aussie Beacon Owners to Benefit from Modernized Satellite System

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), in cooperation with

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) has awarded a substantial contract to

enhance the regional search and rescue satellite system used to detect

emergency distress beacons.

---

AMSA Chief Executive Officer Mick Kinley said McMurdo Group’s

Techno-Sciences, Inc (TSi) has been selected to establish a

next-generation Medium-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR)

capability in Australia and New Zealand, following a rigorous tender

process.

The ten-year Australian contract provides for installation and

maintenance of a six-antenna MEOSAR ground station in Western Australia

and a Mission Control Centre in Canberra.

Installation is expected to take 15 months.

“Australians are the biggest per capita users of distress beacons in the world, with more than 300,000 beacons registered,” Mr Kinley said.

“The modernised MEOSAR satellite distress beacon detection

system will allow AMSA to detect beacon activations in a more timely

manner.”

The MEOSAR system will replace the Low-altitude Earth Orbit Search

and Rescue (LEOSAR) satellite system, which will be phased out in coming

years under international arrangements. Once fully operational the

MEOSAR system will reduce beacon detection times from hours under the

current system, to within 10 minutes, 95 per cent of the time.

Australia and New Zealand’s MEO Local User Terminals (MEOLUTs) or

satellite tracking ground stations will work cooperatively to achieve

overlapping coverage of Australia and New Zealand’s Search and Rescue

Regions.

“This offers a high degree of resilience in the event of a system

outage that would be expensive for either country to achieve alone,” Mr Kinley said.

Press Release, September 04, 2014