Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation network does more than let the user navigate – it is also helping save lives. On 6 April the spotlight was cast on Galileo’s Search and Rescue service, which pinpoints those in distress on land or sea.

This service is Europe’s contribution to the Cospas-Sarsat international satellite-based locating system that has helped to rescue more than 42 000 people since 1982 – the only system that can independently locate a distress beacon wherever it is activated on Earth, it is said. The service was formally premiered on 6 April, a date chosen to highlight the Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz signal.