On 25 February 2018 Commander Pantaleo Dell’Olio is leaving the command of the Cospas-Sarsat Satellite Station in Bari, Italy for a new role at the Coast Guard Headquarters MRCC in Rome.
The Italian Satellite Station, part of the Cospas-Sarsat Ground Segment, transmits information received from satellites to its service area’s Search and Rescue points, which include Italy, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel, Kenya, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia, Somalia, North Sudan, South Sudan, Serbia, and Montenegro.
The International Cospas-Sarsat Programme, designed and managed by the USA, Canada, France and Russia, is a very sophisticated search and rescue Programme with satellite technologies able to locate planes, boats, and also individuals in danger in every part of the globe.
Wherever a boat, plane or land vehicle equipped with a 406 MHz rescue beacon transmitter is in danger, the device, which can also be activated automatically, sends a signal to one of the satellites in the Cospas-Sarsat constellation.
The alert data are intercepted and retransmitted to appropriate ground stations that locate and identify the beacon users to be rescued.
Thanks to the combined action of various satellites (in geostationary and low polar orbit), the System ensures total earth coverage.
During his command, Italy has been recognized for its active participation in the Demonstration and Evaluation phase of a new Cospas-Sarsat satellite system called MEOSAR, a medium-altitude earth orbit search and rescue satellite system for distress alerting and postitioning, designed to improve the ability to detect and locate people in dangerous situations more quickly and with greater precision.
The speed of location and rescue increases the percentage of lives saved in case of accidents and the immediate location of the accident reduces the risks to which the rescue teams are exposed and the costs of the operation.
There are 42 countries and two organizations that have joined the Programme worldwide, including Italy.
The Italian Satellite Station is managed by the Department of Civil Protection and by the Coast Guard Headquarters and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The station, while under the direction of Commander Dell’Olio, dealt with about 18,000 events and rescued approximately 2,150 persons.
The Commander participated in 63 international meetings, and organized two international meetings held in Italy – the first in Bari in 2009 and the second in Rome in 2015.
Cospas-Sarsat congratulates Commander Dell’Olio for his years of service to the Programme and wishes him fair winds and following seas as he transitions to his new position.
