Italy at the 62nd Cospas-Sarsat Council

The Italian delegation led by C.F. (CP) Angelo MAGGIO, Director of the Italian Satellite Station in Bari, Italy, took part in the 62nd COSPAS-SARSAT Council held in Montréal, Canada, from November 19 to 22, 2019.

The event was attended by representatives from 35 states, as well as delegates from the European Commission, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services.

Topics included the approval of the Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) system developed by the European Commission, European Space Agency (ESA) and European Global Navigation Satellite System (GSA) Agency.

An innovative system that of the Return Link Service, which from next year, will enable Mission Control Centers (MCCs) to communicate with active RLS transmitters, providing confirmation that the alert message has been received and thus the consequent activation of rescue operations, as well as the possibility in some cases, to activate them remotely.

Communications between ground stations and transmitters will be provided by the Galileo constellation, which to date has 26 satellites in medium orbit.