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Singapore wants to enhance search and rescue capabilities, so it has invested in a ground system. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) have invested in a medium-altitude earth orbit search and rescue (MEOSAR) ground system, CAAS said.
“We are committed to ensuring that prompt assistance is available to persons in distress within the Singapore Search and Rescue Region,” said Kevin Shum, director-general of CAAS. “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 system employs distress signals that are emitted from the emergency beacons, activated by aircraft, ships or people. Those signals are received simultaneously by the satellites, and are relayed back to the ground segnment, CAAS said. CAAS said it views this as an improvement to the current low-altitude earth orbit search and rescue (LOESAR) ground system.
The new system is expected to be fully operational next year. It is an initiative under the Cospas-Sarsat program, an international satellite-based program for search an drescue, CAAS said.