On 26 September 2019 in Oostende, DG GROW organised a live demonstration of the Galileo Search and Rescue Service on the Belgian coast.
The Galileo Search and Rescue Service provides increased location accuracy from 10 km to less than 2 km in rescue operations around the world, coordinated by the international rescue programme Cospas-Sarsat.
It has reduced the time it takes to detect a person equipped with a distress beacon to less than 10 minutes at sea, in mountains or deserts. In the future, the system will also confirm to the person that help is on the way.
As part of “Shark Bait”, social media influencer Tara Foster (@Taraustralis) was left alone on a life raft at sea, equipped only with a distress beacon.
By activating this beacon, Galileo satellites determined her position quickly and accurately.
This triggered a rescue operation featuring a rescue boat and a helicopter to save her, coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Oostende.
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