GPS World

Tag: emergency locator transmitter

  • Another Orolia ELT receives Cospas-Sarsat certification

    Another Orolia ELT receives Cospas-Sarsat certification

    New-generation aircraft ELT meets new European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements

    Photo: Orolia
    Photo: Orolia

    Orolia has received certifications for yet another survival emergency locator transmitter (ELT), the Ultima-S.

    The news follows Orolia’s announcement that it had received certification for the Ultima-DT model, as well as a personal locator now shipping to the U.S. Army.

    The Ultima-S is a new generation ELT installed in either the cabins or liferafts of aircraft. It relays accurate aircraft location information to search-and-rescue teams.

    Once activated, a 406-MHz distress signal is transmitted and includes the ELT’s location thanks to the Ultima-S internal GNSS receiver. This built-in GNSS capability increases both probability and speed of detection of the distress signal.

    “With these key certifications for the Ultima-S, Orolia brings a long-awaited solution to the industry,” said Jérôme Ramé, Orolia’s Aviation & Military Product Line Director. “We have developed strong partnerships with several of the leading aircraft manufacturers that will enable operators worldwide to benefit from the Ultima-S for both their linefit and retrofit needs, allowing fleet standardization.”

    The Ultima-S provides free, global coverage service through the dedicated Cospas-Sarsat infrastructure while meeting the highest aviation safety standards. Orolia offers non-rechargeable lithium batteries compliant with the latest FAA and EASA special conditions standards, also known under TSO-C142b/DO227A. The Ultima-S also meets the most recent ELT performance and environmental standards through TSO-C126c.

    “What makes the Ultima-S unique is a new feature called the Return Link Service (RLS),” said Ramé. “Through this capability, the user is automatically notified when the distress signal is detected and located by the Cospas-Sarsat ground infrastructure. The Ultima-S links directly to the European Galileo GNSS satellite constellation, providing the most reliable and timely information for reaching aircraft crew members in distress.”

    In addition to being available on a linefit basis on major aircraft programs, Orolia has launched an exchange program to make retrofit activities easier for airlines, especially those upgrading to safer battery technology.

  • Orolia receives Cospas-Sarsat certification for distress locator

    Orolia receives Cospas-Sarsat certification for distress locator

    The approval paves the way for Orolia’s ELT-DT to play essential roles in meeting the aviation industry’s advanced safety mandates worldwide

    The Ultima-DT emergency locator. (Photo: Orolia)
    The Ultima-DT emergency locator. (Photo: Orolia)

    Orolia is the first company to receive certification from Cospas-Sarsat and the European Union Safety Agency for its new-generation distress tracking emergency locator transmitter, the Ultima-DT.

    The approval verifies Orolia’s continuous advancements in global beacon technology, including securing a single source, multi-year program contract to supply ELT-DTs for all Airbus aircraft programs.

    Cospas-Sarsat is an international, humanitarian search-and-rescue system that uses space-based technology to detect and locate model 406 emergency beacons carried by ships, aircraft or individuals venturing into remote areas, often inaccessible by GNSS signals. The system consists of a network of satellites, ground stations, mission control centers (MCCs), and rescue coordination centers (RCCs) that work together when a 406 beacon is activated.

    “Being the first company to certify a distress tracking ELT shows again Orolia’s unique ability to provide the industry with the most innovative safety solutions,” said Jérôme Ramé, Orolia’s aviation and military product line director. “With Ultima-DT, we address the EASA-mandated requirement for the location of aircraft in distress, but also the market need for an ELT meeting the most recent safety standards.”

    Orolia developed the Ultima-DT in response to aviation safety mandates to improve global aircraft tracking. As per the ICAO Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety Systems (GADSS) recommendation and European Union mandate, all new aircraft delivered from January 2024 shall be able to autonomously report their location anywhere in the world and determine the end-of-flight location to help rescue teams rapidly locate the aircraft and recover flight recorders.

    Unlike traditional automatic fixed ELTs and stand-alone units, the Ultima-DT is tightly connected to the avionics system. It activates upon detecting a potential distress condition and starts transmitting automatically while the aircraft is still in flight. This next-generation ELT autonomously acquires the aircraft’s location and sends a 406-MHz message in real-time, including the accurate location, to the Cospas-Sarsat distress alert organization.

    The Ultima-DT is also the first ELT to fully comply with the latest EASA/FAA safety requirements for non-rechargeable lithium battery-powered equipment through (E)TSO-C142b. As part of its efforts to support airlines in their regulatory compliance projects, Orolia is also offering its portable Ultima-S ELT, which aims to meet these special conditions.

  • Orolia’s new aircraft emergency beacon uses Galileo service

    Orolia’s new aircraft emergency beacon uses Galileo service

    Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S emergency locator uses the Galileo Return Link Service. (Photo: Orolia)
    Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S emergency locator uses the Galileo Return Link Service. (Photo: Orolia)

    Orolia is introducing a new product for commercial aircraft safety, the Kannad Ultima-S emergency locator transmitter (ELT).

    The Kannad Ultima-S is designed to be installed in the cabin of commercial aircraft or in its life raft. It is capable of notifying the crew about the launch of a search-and-rescue operation via Galileo Return Link Service (RLS).

    For passengers, installation of the Kannad Ultima-S means their flight can located accurately, with rescue following if an aircraft evacuation is needed.

    Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S ELT was developed under a two-year contract through the European GNSS Agency’s Tauceti Project. Orolia says this is the first beacon to use the Galileo RLS.

    Other key features include:

    • Certified to the new lithium battery regulations to avoid the risk of battery fires.
    • A multi-GNSS receiver to accept multiple signals such as GPS and Galileo to detect the aircraft’s
      location faster and deploy rescue teams sooner than before.
    • Dual activation modes: manually or automatically upon contact with water.
    • An RLS option to notify the crew that the distress signal has been received and help is on the way (available on Galileo).
    • Multiple configurations available to install in aircraft cabins and life rafts. With a rugged, compact, and easy-to-install form factor, both versions can be installed through a carry-off bag or a mounting bracket and require little storage room.

    Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S meets new and evolving EASA/FAA requirements related to ELTs and non-rechargeable lithium batteries documented under the RTCA DO-227A standard.

    “Orolia is dedicated to making air travel even safer than it is today with resilient positioning and aircraft location technology, featuring automatic, manual and remote activation modes to provide a complete ELT portfolio,” said Christian Belleux, Aviation Product Line director at Orolia. “We are excited to present aircraft operators with an affordable, reliable and state-of-the-art ELT solution for cabin modifications or linefit installations.”

    The new ELT benefits from the proven Cospas Sarsat infrastructure, which is being upgraded to provide highly accurate location data and nearly real-time reporting to search-and-rescue operators through global coverage.

    Kannad Ultima-S survival distress beacons complement Orolia’s Ultima family of next-generation ELTs, following the company announcement of the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS)-compliant fixed Ultima-DT. Orolia provides aircraft manufacturers and operators with a complete solution for every ELT application.

    Orolia will exhibit at the Paris Air Show June 17-20, Hall 2B booth E32, where both new ELTs will be displayed for the first time.

  • Galileo search-and-rescue service officially launched

    The European Union's SAR zone.
    The European Union’s Galileo search-and-rescue zone.

    The Galileo Search And Rescue (SAR) service, made possible by the Galileo satellite constellation, is now active.

    Galileo SAR is Europe’s contribution to the COSPAS-SARSAT network, a distress alert detection and information distribution system best known for detecting and locating emergency beacons activated by aircraft, ships and hikers.

    By providing COSPAS-SARSAT with the coverage capacity of the Galileo constellation equipped with SAR transponders, Europe is helping to reduce the detection delay of a distress signal from up to several hours to 10 minutes.

    A return link, a signal informing the person in distress that the signal has been received and localized, will be added to the system by the end of 2018.

    Beacon Awareness Day

    The Galileo SAR launch day, April 6, is Beacon Awareness Day in the United States. It’s also named 406 day. 406 stands for 4/06 — the date in U.S. format — and the 406-MHz frequency of the SARSAT beacons.

    For Twitter and social media, special hashtags #406day, #406day17 and #savedbythebeacon already exist. The program has added the hashtag #getabeacon to complement it.

    The following video about the program focuses on maritime operations, which account for 75 percent of the alerts.

    Coming to the Rescue

    With Galileo, the time to identify the location of a beacon signal is reduced from several hours to a few minutes. At sea, this makes SAR rescue operations easier thanks to a narrowed “search box,” since the vessel in distress has less time to drift.

    On land, the quick acquisition of a precise position enables rescue teams to more quickly reach the operation zone and assist the victims.

    In the air, Galileo contributes to fulfilling International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements for implementing the next-generation emergency management system Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS). In particular, it enhances location of an airplane in distress, which will be mandatory on Jan. 1, 2021.

    The Search And Rescue transponders on Galileo satellites can pick up signals emitted from any 406-MHz distress beacon anywhere in the service coverage area and transmit this information to the dedicated ground stations (MEOLUTs). The SAR/Galileo infrastructure is interoperable with GPS and GLONASS SAR transponders.

    Once the beacon is located by the MEOLUTs, the location data is sent to the COSPAS-SARSAT mission control centre (MCC), which distributes it to the relevant rescue centres. The rescue centres, under the responsibility of national competent authorities and administrations, then coordinate the required rescue efforts.

    Improving COSPAS-SARSAT

    Galileo plays an important role in the Medium Earth Orbit Search And Rescue system of COSPAS-SARSAT (MEOSAR), and provides a ground segment coverage of 40 million square kilometers over Europe as a contribution to MEOSAR global coverage.

    Thanks to the advanced European technology used, integration of Galileo into COSPAS-SARSAT improves the system by:

    • enabling faster detection and localization of distress signals anywhere in the service coverage area, reducing the delay between beacon activation and distress localization
    • making it easier to find the source of a signal by significantly boosting precision in comparison to the current situation
    • increasing availability and improving detection of signals in difficult terrain or weather conditions.

    The Galileo Search And Rescue service is one of the three services launched in December 2016 with the Initial Services. The SAR service represented just 1 percent of total Galileo program costs, but should result in thousands of lives being saved, according to the head.

  • McMurdo Gets FAA, EASA Nods for Commercial Aircraft Locator

    McMurdo Group, maker of end-to-end search and rescue solutions, has received formal certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its Kannad Integra ARINC 429 Navigation Interface.

    Based on the ARINC 429 GPS communications standard for most commercial aircraft, the interface, when used with the Kannad Integra Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), provides dual GPS redundancy that can result in aircraft being found much faster compared to standard ELTs in event of an emergency. The solution has already been selected by aircraft manufacturers including Pilatus, Embraer and Airbus Helicopters.

    Traditional ELTs rely on an aircraft’s external antenna and GPS equipment, which is subject to failure in the event of an emergency. The Kannad Integra ELT, however, can operate independently of the aircraft to provide key positioning data through its built-in internal antenna and embedded GPS receiver. The Integra ARINC 429 navigation interface stores the latest known position of the aircraft based on the aircraft navigation system data. This data is then used by the built-in Integra GPS for better location accuracy and a higher chance of rescue.

    In March, McMurdo introduced an Integra Smart Pack bundle, which provides similar redundancy for general aviation aircraft using the standard NMEA interface.

    The Kannad Integra ELT and Integra ARINC 429 Navigation Interface are suitable for commercial aircraft, helicopters, business jets and airlines. Once activated, the Integra ELT transmits a distress signal to alert international rescue services to the emergency location via the global Cospas-Sarsat Search and Rescue satellite system, which has helped to save more than 37,000 lives since 1982.

    “McMurdo’s Kannad products have been chosen by the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers and airlines for their quality, reliability and innovation,” said Christian Belleux, head of McMurdo’s Kannad Aviation Business Unit. “This new ARINC 429 interface is yet another example of how we are helping to shape the present and the future of aviation safety.”