detect beacon-alerts transmitted at 406 MHz, 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz. Because of a large number of false alerts, and the inability to uniquely identify such beacons because of their old, analogue technology (that provided no message, only a tone indicating distress), the Cospas-Sarsat system beginning in 2009 stopped receiving alerts from beacons operating at 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz, and now only receives and processes alerts from modern, digital 406-MHz beacons. Many ELTs include both a 406-MHz transmitter for satellite detection and a 121.5 MHz transmitter that can be received by local search crews using direction-finding equipment. In the early 2000s (in 2003 in the USA) a new type of distress beacon, the personal locator beacon (PLB), became available for use by individuals who cannot contact emergency services through normal telephone-originated services, such as 1-1-2 or 9-1-1. Typically PLBs are used by people engaged in recreational activities in remote areas, and by small-aircraft pilots and mariners as an adjunct to (or, when permitted, a substitute for) an ELT or EPIRB. The design of distress beacons as a whole has evolved significantly since 1982. The newest 406-MHz beacons often incorporate global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers (such as those using GPS). Such beacons determine their location using the internal GNSS receiver (or a connection to an external navigation source) and transmit in their distress message highly accurate position reports. This provides a second method for Cospas-Sarsat to know the location of the distress, in addition to the calculations independently done by Cospas-Sarsat LUTs to determine the location. The distress alert received by the satellites and the beacon location contained in the message and/or calculated from the distress signal are forwarded almost instantly to SAR agencies by Cospas-Sarsat's extensive international data-distribution network. This two-tiered reliability and global coverage of the system has inspired the current motto of SAR agencies: "Taking the 'Search' out of Search and Rescue." COSPAS (КОСПАС) is an acronym from the transliterated Russian "Cosmicheskaya Sistema Poiska Avariynyh Sudov" (Космическая Система Поиска Аварийных Судов), which means "Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress". SARSAT is an acronym for Search And Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking. References External links Official Website for the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme International Astronautical Federation, "The History and Experience of the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme for Satellite-Aided Search and Rescue" Official Website for the USA's Sarsat Program Official Website for NASA's Search-and-Rescue Mission Office Maritime communication Emergency