Visions from Above
 |
| Click on image above for full-sized photo. |
The Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) System is used to detect and locate people in distress. Operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the satellites aided in 224 rescues in the U.S. in 2003. The satellites are part of COSPAS-SARSAT, a cluster of U.S. and Russian satellites that work together to detect distress signals anywhere in the world. Worldwide, the system has helped rescue over 17,000 people since 1982.
 |
| Click on image above for full-sized photo. |
The Personal Locator Beacon provides survival in a box. It transmits a person’s location via satellite to the Air Force and then to the nearest rescuers. To use it, a person simply pulls the breakaway tab to switch it on, and then waits for rescuers.
Police, fire, and emergency medical service units are using Global Positioning Systems to determine the vehicle nearest to an emergency, enabling the quickest possible response in life-or-death situations.
 |
| Click on image above for full-sized photo. |
In California, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) uses satellites to ensure continuous communications during emergencies. The department owns portable receivers to use when the public telephone network is down.
Finding better ways to handle satellite data as it pours down to Earth is the aim of the GeoStreams research project at UC Davis. Satellites produce huge amounts of image data every day, and faster processing of satellite data would be especially useful for following fast-changing events such as storms.
Back to Visions from Above main page