Satellites Played a Role in Hundreds of Rescues Last Year

A space-based assist quietly helped hundreds of people stay alive in 2025. A US-run satellite network was involved in 300 rescues in the United States and its waters last year, most of them at sea, per new figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The system, called SARSAT (for Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system), picks up distress signals from special 406 MHz beacons carried on boats, planes, and by outdoor adventurers. The info is then immediately sent to coordination centers run by the Air Force (for land rescues) or the Coast Guard (for maritime rescues).

CBS News reports that SARSAT helped find a frostbitten skier stranded in Colorado's San Juan Mountains in March and two sailors and their dog on a sinking catamaran off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in December. Florida topped the rescues list with 71, followed by Alaska and Wyoming. As for the types of rescues, 183 people were pulled from the water, 47 were rescued from aviation incidents, and 70 were located on land, per NOAA. Since its 1982 launch, the global SARSAT program has been credited with more than 63,000 rescues worldwide, with nearly 20% of them taking place in the US; its satellites also "help meteorologists issue life-saving forecasts," notes NOAA.