Becker MR 109 Series Operation Manual page 9

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
Image provided courtesy of Cospas-Sarsat
Cospas-Sarsat has demonstrated that the GEOSAR and LEOSAR system capabilities are comple-
mentary. For example the GEOSAR system can provide almost immediate alerting in the footprint of
the GEOSAR satellite, whereas the LEOSAR system:
•
provides coverage of the polar regions (which are beyond the coverage of geostationary sat-
ellites);
•
can calculate the location of distress events using Doppler processing techniques; and
•
is less susceptible to obstructions, which may block a beacon signal in a given direction be-
cause the satellite is continuously moving with respect to the beacon.
LEOSAR and GEOSAR Capabilities
Channel
P rocessing
•
406 MHz
•
•
•
121.5 MHz
•
T01008-MRR-0000 / Issue: a
MR 109–( ) OPERATION MANUAL
LEOSAR
Beacon identification information and
location information provided
Global coverage, but not insta
ous
Beacon location information available
Beacon identification not provided
Local mode coverage only
•
Beacon identification provided, and
location information available if en-
coded in beacon message (location
protocol beacon)
ntane-
•
Near instantaneou
GEOSAR coverage area
•
Not supported
GEOSAR
s alerting in the
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