Emergency communications via satellite

Winter (1982) has provided a description of a new generation of small satellite communications ground stations which are suited to transportable, emergency, and disaster response applications. These ground stations are currently in service using the Telesat Canada 6/4 GHz Anik satellites. It has been found that the considered small ground stations are excellent for emergency follow-up applications. However, more portable terminals are needed for emergency alerting applications. The present investigation is concerned with those types of satellite systems which may be better suited to the full requirements of emergency communications. Emergency communication requirements are examined, and a review of satellite systems is presented, taking into account Inmarsat, Marisat, Marecs, Msat, Fleet Satellite Communications, the Anik C 14/12 GHz satellite, and the Sarsat/Cospas system.