Vietnam to get search and rescue solution from Europe’s largest satellite producer

Thales Alenia Space, Europe’s biggest satellite manufacturer, has signed a contract with prime contractor MKE to provide Vietnam with a MEOLUT Next ground station that will operate as part of the COSPAS-SARSAT global MEOSAR (Medium Orbit Search And Rescue) network.

The solution will make it possible to detect and locate distress signals from COSPAS-SARSAT beacons on land, in the air and at sea instantaneously over a radius of 2,500 kilometers centered around Hai Phong city in northern Vietnam, mainly using the Galileo satellite positioning system, the giant announced in France Tuesday.

Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next product will give Vietnam unrivaled performance. The French-Italian joint venture explained that where conventional MEOLUT systems rely on six, large, parabolic antennas each covering an area about the size of a football field and are therefore only capable of receiving signals from six satellites simultaneously (one per antenna), the MEOLUT Next solution, with its compact antennas taking up less than six square meters, tracks up to 30 satellites, significantly enhancing distress beacon detection and expanding coverage.

MEOLUT Next is, therefore, capable of detecting and locating distress signals from more than 5,000 km away, said the joint venture between French technology firm Thales (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%).

The solution is already operated by the main users of COSPAS-SARSAT (namely the U.S, Canada, France, the EU, and Togo) and, more recently, by Thailand. The system is helping to save lives, as recently demonstrated in the Indian Ocean.

“This is the second contract to deploy our MEOLUT Next solution in Asia, following the one recently awarded in Thailand, a testament to the operational performance of this technology in ensuring the safety of people and property. Saving lives is something that ties in with our company’s aspirations, as demonstrated by our contribution to COSPAS-SARSAT search-and-rescue services,” said Benoit Broudy, vice president of navigation at Thales Alenia Space in France.

COSPAS-SARSAT is an intergovernmental organization founded by Canada, the U.S., France, and Russia. Operational since 1988 and deployed in more than 40 countries around the world, this satellite-based search-and-rescue distress alert detection and information distribution system is best known for detecting and locating emergency beacons activated by aircraft, ships and hikers in distress.

Conventional MEOLUT (medium earth orbit local user terminal) systems use large parabolic antennas and are limited by how many satellite signals they can receive. Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next solution is compact, measuring less than six square meters, and is able to track up to 30 satellites, thus significantly enhancing distress beacon detection while expanding coverage.

Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion (nearly $2.37 billion) in 2022 and has around 8,500 employees in 10 countries with 17 sites in Europe and a plant in the U.S., the giant says.