By international agreement, the Federal Seasafety Centre in Canberra is responsible for search and rescue over an area covering one-ninth of the earth’s oceans. It’s an enormous undertaking - keeping watch for those in peril on the sea over 20 million square kilometres of ocean and 37000 kilometres of coastline. Now space age technology is lending a helping hand. The Cospas/Sarsat International Search and Rescue System uses four space satellites to keep a constant and precise lookout for emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRB) and this video explains how this system works.