1. In situations of "grave and imminent danger" when lives are at risk, emergency beacons are activated.
2. Emergency alerts received by the satellites are retransmitted to 38 automatic (unstaffed) ground stations worldwide. These stations are called Local User Terminals (LUTs).
3. Alerts are routed to a Mission Control Center (MCC) in the country that operates the LUT. Routed alerts include beacon location computed at the LUT if the alert is received by one of the system's low-Earth-orbiting satellites. Alerts received by system satellites in geosynchronous orbit provide instantaneous alerting and can include location information if the beacon is a self-locating type.
4. After validation processing, alerts are relayed depending on beacon location or country of registration (406-MHz beacons only) to either another MCC or to the appropriate Rescue Coordination Center (RCC).
5. U.S. RCCs are operated by the Coast Guard and the Air Force. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) at Langley AFB, Virginia, coordinates all inland SAR activities in the lower 48 states. In most situations, the actual search and rescue is carried out by the Civil Air Patrol or local rescue services. The U.S. Coast Guard coordinates and conducts most maritime SAR missions from RCCs located in nine Command Districts around the United States and two Rescue Sub-Centers (RSCs) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in Guam.
 Alaskan inland rescues are handled differently. The Air Force operates an Alaskan Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) in Anchorage at Ft. Richardson. Alaskan SAR is carried out by Air National Guard units, the Alaska State Police, and local authorities.
The U.S. Portion of the Cospas-Sarsat system is operated by the NOAA SARSAT Office in Suitland, Maryland. The U.S. Mission Control Center (USMCC) is located there.
More information about the Cospas-Sarsat System may be obtained from the international London based Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat.
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