Galileo and Copernicus are game changers in search and rescue operations

When a person is lost in the mountains or stranded in the ocean, every minute can cost a life. Finding survivors is a battle against time in which Europe relies on technology. Thanks to the EU's programme in space - most notably the Galileo system and Copernicus satellite monitoring - rescue operations are now faster, more accurate and more efficient than ever.

The European contribution to the global Cospas-Sarsat system, in operation since the 1980s, began with Galileo, the only navigation system that provides feedback from distress beacons. When a person activates a beacon, the signal goes into orbit, where Galileo satellites (27 in 2025) determine the location with high accuracy - to one metre, and even to 20 cm when using the High Accuracy Service. Within 2-3 minutes, the signal is sent back, confirming to the victim that their coordinates are known and help is on its way. This is not just technology: it is psychological support in the darkest moment, when a person is alone, but no longer alone.

With the transition to the MEOSAR segment (medium orbit satellites), Cospas-Sarsat has eliminated location delays typical of previous systems. Whereas in the past it could take up to four hours to detect a signal, now it takes no more than ten minutes, and more often less than three. Galileo has become the largest contribution to this segment, surpassing other international satellite constellations in terms of coverage.

Every two years, the Galileo SAR Meet brings together rescuers, pilots and engineers from across Europe to share experiences, test skills and provide feedback to satellite infrastructure builders. In 2025, the competition took place in the Czech Republic with teams from several countries participating. The German team from Niederstetten using an Airbus EC145 helicopter won all three categories: flight, rescue tasks and ground handling.

The competition included navigation between checkpoints, precision landings in narrow areas, moving loads to simulate casualty evacuation, and tests for ground technical teams. All tasks simulated real-world operations under time constraints and difficult terrain. Special emphasis was placed on crew resource management - the ability to quickly adapt to changing conditions.

At the SAR Meet symposium, rescuers from Norway spoke about mobile phone detection technologies in remote areas, Spaniards spoke about calls in the mountains, and Canadians from British Columbia compared their approaches with those in Europe and noted that Galileo helps them even when they don't know it.

While Galileo operates as a space navigator, Copernicus provides lifeguards with critical environmental data. The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) publishes publicly available forecasts of currents, waves and other ocean parameters. This data is used in drift models that help to accurately predict where the current may have carried victims, thereby dramatically reducing the search area and risks to rescuers.

For example, OCEAN-SAR, developed by LINKS SPA and CMCC Foundation, uses CMEMS data to predict the drift of objects in the Mediterranean Sea. Coordinators can input the last known position of the casualty and get a visualisation of the likely route - simplifying and speeding up on-site decision-making. While the automatic integration of this data into SAR is still at a prospective level, the potential for such synergies is already evident.

SAR Meet is more than just a competition. It is an opportunity for Galileo developers to hear directly from the people who depend on them to save lives. The realities are different: rescuers in Portugal face different challenges than crews in the Arctic or the Alps. These nuances become the basis for improvements.

Among the future features discussed are: two-way communication, allowing simple requests to be sent and responses to be received from the beacon; and remote activation of beacons, a solution that could save those who cannot activate a distress signal on their own.