LEO and MEO footprint Comparisons for satellite-based SAR assistance. Photo: Communications Research Center Canada

[Via Satellite 01-13-2015] McMurdo Group’s recently acquired Techno-Sciences has received contracts worth approximately $7.5 million from NASA and the governments of Cyprus, Brunei and Argentina for Search and Rescue (SAR) network infrastructure solutions and next-generation Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) systems. The company will deploy Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) software for a European and Asian SAR authority, a six-channel MEOSAR system in South America and a two-channel MEOSAR extension in the United States. Contract completion is expected in one to five years, depending on the customer. Some of the contracts also include maintenance services.

McMurdo Group provides satellite ground stations and hardware and software for mission control centers and rescue coordination centers. In SAR missions, satellites relay distress beacons to Mission Control Centers and Rescue Coordination Centers for rescue team deployment. McMurdo Group has been involved in developing the MEOSAR system to make the detection, identification and location of emergency distress beacons nearly instantaneous. The system is currently in its demonstration and evaluation phase, with Initial Operational Capability (IOC) expected in 2016 and Full Operational Capability (FOC) by 2018.