The Russian Space Systems holding company began creating a network of ground stations for receiving signals from the COSPAS-SARSAT search and rescue equipment on board the medium-orbit navigation satellites GLONASS, GPS, Galileo and Beidou.
Together with the low-orbit and geostationary satellites currently in use, this will increase the speed of transmission of position data to the search and rescue services of Russia and other countries when emergency radio beacons are activated on aircraft, ships, and for personal use, the Roscosmos press service reports.
The international satellite search and rescue system COSPAS-SARSAT has been successfully saving lives for almost 40 years. Since the launch in 1982 of the first satellite with RKS search and rescue equipment, more than fifty thousand people on the planet have been saved.
The Roscosmos State Corporation continues operational monitoring of emergency situations around the world using the Russian orbital constellation, maintains operational interaction with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for a timely response to the occurrence of flood and fire situations and implementation of space monitoring of the affected areas. As part of the implementation of the instructions of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, round-the-clock operational monitoring of flood and fire conditions, as well as other natural and man-made disasters, has been organized.
For example, in the period from January 13 to January 20, 2022, the following emergency situations were monitored at the request of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations: the situation on the Georgian Military Road; ice crossings in several regions of the Russian Federation; a ship stuck in ice in the Khabarovsk Territory; threat of flooding in the Krasnoyarsk Territory; flooding in the Krasnodar region and the Republic of Karelia.
In addition, the Gonets Satellite System company (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) has developed a tank fill monitoring system called Gonets-Ecologist. With its help, it will be possible to predict and prevent man-made accidents associated with spills of harmful substances. The two key components of the platform are the radio wave level gauge and the Gonets satellite communications terminal. With the new development, liquid levels in open and closed tanks can be measured in near real time.
Today, the Russian orbital constellation of spacecraft includes more than 160 spacecraft for various purposes. Over the past year, the duty forces of the G.S. Titov State Scientific and Research Center with high accuracy completed all the planned control sessions of spacecraft of the Russian orbital constellation, about 60% of which is controlled by the ground-based automated control complex of the Aerospace Forces Space Forces.