375
operations
5 – d i s tress beacons
In theAustralian region there are three LUTs located at Albany (WA),
Bundaberg (QLD) andWellington (NZ) that are controlled by theMCC located
withRCC-Australia inCanberra.
Alerts from 406MHz distress beaconsmay be received andprocessedby
geo-stationary satellites and passed toRCC-Australiawithinminutes. If the
beacon hasGPS capability then a very accuratepositionmay be transmitted
with the alert. Non-GPS beacons require detectionby a Polar-orbiting satellite
before a position can be obtained.