The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) have invested in a new Medium-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) ground system, to enhance search and rescue capabilities in Singapore’s maritime and aeronautical Search and Rescue Regions (SRRs).
The system comprises a ground segment, as well as a space segment which deploys Medium-altitude Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Distress signals, emitted from the emergency beacons activated by aircraft, ships or persons in distress, will be received simultaneously by the MEO satellites and relayed back to the ground segment. Costing S$8.4 million, MEOSAR will be fully operational in 2018.
Mr Kevin Shum, Director-General of CAAS, said: “The acquisition of the improved space-based system will enhance our search and rescue capabilities. It will complement our equipment and resources to provide faster, more accurate and reliable data to locate persons in distress.”
The MEOSAR ground system, an initiative under the international Cospas-Sarsat programme, is an improvement to the current Low-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (LEOSAR) ground system, with access to more satellites and employment of more advanced technologies to enhance position accuracy for faster detection and location of distress parties.
Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA, stated: “In any search and rescue mission, time is of the essence. The new MEOSAR system will allow us to detect and locate the distress party more accurately for the expeditious deployment of assets to save lives.”
