Since January 21, 2020, Galileo Return Link Service (RLS), which enables people in distress to receive automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been received, has been declared operational by the European Commission.
This was very good news for Orolia, since we’ve recently been recognized by the European GNSS Agency (GSA) as the world’s first manufacturer to provide Galileo RLS Beacons ready to market for both aviation and maritime sectors.
While Galileo’s RLS functionality will be available to any beacon manufacturer that updates their design to incorporate this feature, Orolia has the longest history of supporting the development of Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) ground and space infrastructure, Galileo satellite timing components and leadership of the European Union’s H2020 Helios project to connect the next generation of SAR beacons to Galileo.
Orolia’s Aviation Beacons Are RLS Enabled
As one of the major contributors in defining these new standards with regulators and defining the architecture with the major aircraft manufacturers, through the GSA H2020 HELIOS and TAUCETI projects, Orolia now helps operators comply with GADSS and the special requirements through next-generation ELTs, under its new Kannad Ultima range that includes the FAA/EASA Special Conditions and Return Link Service:
Kannad Ultima-S - A new generation of Survival Emergency Locator Transmitter, developed through the TAUCETI project as a portable device to be installed in the aircraft cabin or in life rafts, and specifically designed to meet the FAA/EASA Special Conditions, and optionally Galileo RLS enabled.
This Next-Generation Emergency Beacon was launched in 2019 at the Paris Air Show.
In the Meantime, on the Maritime Side…
With Orolia’s 2017 launch of the award-winning McMurdo SmartFind G8 & SafePro EPIRBs and the 2019 release of the upgraded McMurdo FastFind 220 and Kannad Solo Personal Location Beacons (PLBs), Orolia Maritime now offers the world’s first maritime search and rescue beacons with accelerated location detection by, in addition to the MEOSAR independent localization capability, utilizing multiple GNSS sources including the precision location capabilities of Galileo.
McMurdo FastFind 220 and Kannad SafeLink Solo PLB – The world’s first PLBs upgraded to include Galileo, the European Union's global satellite constellation.
McMurdo FastFind ReturnLink PLB - A new type of lifesaving distress beacon, which utilizes unique functionality generated by Galileo RLS to send an acknowledgment to the FastFind ReturnLink beacon confirming that the user’s 406 MHz distress alert has been detected and localized. This Next-Generation Distress Beacon was launched in 2019 at METSTRADE
McMurdo SmartFind & Kannad SafePro AIS range – The RLS feature will also be released later in 2020 as an EPIRB with an updated version of Orolia’s unique SmartFind & SafePro AIS range.
How much do you know about Galileo Return Link Service?
What is Galileo?
Galileo is the European Union’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellation, which reached its operational phase in 2017, allowing technology with a Galileo-enabled receiver to use signals provided by Galileo’s global satellite constellation for positioning, navigation and timing.
Galileo’s development is part of the EU’s preparations for upgrading the international distress beacon locating organization Cospas-Sarsat’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Ecosystem under the MEOSAR program, which requires new earth based antennae and a network of around 72 SAR satellites, made up of the US GPS, EU Galileo and Russian GLONASS constellations.
What is the Return Link Service?
The RLS feature is an indication on the RLS-Enabled beacon that confirms to the beacon user that the distress signal from an activated beacon has been received by the Cospas-Sarsat system and is being sent to the responsible search-and-rescue (SAR) authorities. This service is described in the Galileo SAR Service Definition Document (https://www.gsc-europa.eu/sites/default/files/sites/all/files/Galileo-SA...).
Who Manages the Return Link Service (RLS)?
The Galileo Return Link Service Provider (RLSP) is based at CNES - headquarters in Toulouse, France, where the Cospas-Sarsat French Mission Control Centre (FMCC) is also operated. This facility manages the Return Link Messages, linked to the Cospas-Sarsat network requesting the acknowledgment and the Galileo Ground Mission Segment (GMS) on the transmission of messages to distress beacons through the Galileo E1 signal.
Learn more about Orolia’s role in developing Galileo Return Link Service
- http://helios-gsa-project.eu/
- http://www.tauceti-gsa-project.eu/
- https://www.orolia.com/resources/news/orolia-presents-worlds-first-aviation-survival-elt-galileo-return-link-service
- https://www.orolia.com/resources/news/orolia-launches-worlds-first-next-generation-emergency-beacon-commercial-aircraft
- https://www.oroliamaritime.com/news-events-press/orolia-maritime-reveals-new-plb-with-return-link-system-for-2020/
- https://www.oroliamaritime.com/2019/07/08/return-link-service/
- https://www.oroliamaritime.com/solutions/galileo-returnlink-rescue/
About Orolia
Orolia is the world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions that improve the reliability, performance and safety of critical, remote or high-risk operations. With a presence in more than 100 countries, Orolia provides virtually failsafe GPS/GNSS and PNT solutions to support military and commercial applications worldwide. www.orolia.com
About Orolia Maritime
Orolia Maritime is the marine arm of Orolia, the global leader in resilient position, navigation and timing Solutions. Orolia Maritime specialize in Emergency Readiness and Response, Navigational Safety, Data Capture and Fleet Management solutions via the globally recognized McMurdo, Netwave and Kannad brands. www.oroliamaritime.com
Orolia Contact:
Sophie Zangs
Telephone +33 (0) 6 07 42 39 33
Email: sophie.zangs@orolia.com
Orolia Maritime Contact:
Sean McCrystal
Tel: +44(0)23 9262 3900
Email: sean.mccrystal@orolia.com