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#OperationSharkBait - Witness a real-life rescue mission at sea with #Galileo

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Journalists are invited to join #OperationSharkBait, a live demonstration of the Galileo Search and Rescue Service, on 26 September in Oostende, on the Belgian coast. The Galileo Search and Rescue Service provides increased location accuracy from 10 km to less than 2 km in rescue operations around the world, co-ordinated by the international rescue programme Cospas-Sarsat.

It has reduced the time it takes to detect a person equipped with a distress beacon to less than 10 minutes at sea, in mountains or deserts. In the future, the system will also confirm to the person that help is on the way. As part of Shark Bait, social media influencer Tara Foster (@Taraustralis) will be left alone on a life raft at sea, equipped only with a distress beacon. By activating this beacon, Galileo satellites will determine her position quickly and accurately.

This will trigger a rescue operation featuring a rescue boat and a helicopter to save her, coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Oostende. Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska said: “In rescue operations, every minute matters. Galileo, our European satellite system, has reduced the time it takes to localise a person in distress and save her. You will have the chance to see it for yourself in Oostende, thanks to Operation Shark Bait!”

The Commission will organise a press trip for journalists who wish to follow the event from the Operational Centre of the Belgian Maritime Rescue, weather permitting. To register or get more information, you can write to [email protected].

#OperationSharkBait will also be livestreamed on EbS. Galileo, Europe's satellite navigation system, provides so-called ‘initial services' since December 2016, which already improve everyday life for citizens and businesses with accurate positioning, navigation and timing signals. It has reached more than 1 billion smartphone users worldwide.

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