A critical part of the International Cospas-Sarsat system is the capability to run tests on the system. A beacon simulator is a critical part of the testing capability. It provides the capability (a) to ensure that the system is operating properly, (b) to measure certain parameters of the system such as capacity, (c) to validate the installation and operation of new LUTS and MCC’s, (d) to test new technology, (e) to support POES and GOES spacecraft post launch tests, and (f) to support Cospas-Sarsat spacecraft, LUT and MCC commissioning tests.
The SEDL’s Beacon Simulator has the following capabilities:
 Generate Beacon Test Sequences pursuant to Cospas-Sarsat commissioning standards.
Simulate a large number of beacons for system capacity tests.
Vary the radio frequency and data content parameters associated with each beacon transmission to test the capability of the system and to detect and process beacons with different parameters.
Add interfering carriers or white noise to the beacon transmissions to test the system for impacts of detection and processing from external in band interference.
A self verification capability consisting of the processing capability of a GEOLUT. This allows the verification that the transmitted signals are correct.
Simulate collisions between beacons; that is, beacons that overlap in time, in frequency or both to determine how the system reacts to overlapping beacons.
The Beacon Simulator Signal Generator (BSSG) will be retained as a backup to the Beacon Simulator.
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