🔍 Key Concepts

• COSPAS-SARSAT system basic purpose and components (satellites, LUTs, MCCs) • How EPIRBs (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons) send position data (with and without GPS) • The role of Doppler shift in locating beacons when GPS data is not available

💭 Think About

• Think about whether every EPIRB transmission automatically includes an exact GPS position, or if that depends on the type of EPIRB being used. • Consider what low-altitude, near‑polar orbiting satellites actually do with the signal: do they store and forward, or immediately relay it to a ground station? • Ask yourself how the system can still locate an EPIRB if it does NOT have its own GPS receiver—what physical principle allows that?

✅ Before You Answer

• Check which EPIRBs always send position data and which do not (standard 406 MHz vs. GPS‑equipped EPIRBs/GPIRBs). • Verify the role and definition of an LUT (Local User Terminal) in the COSPAS‑SARSAT system. • Confirm what Doppler shift is used for in satellite search and rescue systems.