A signal from a 406 transmitter activated anywhere around the world will be received by search and rescue authorities, typically six hours sooner than with older types of transmitters. In the first incident, one rescue was recorded in Maalaea Harbor, Maui. In the second incident, two rescues were recorded 100 nautical miles south, south-west of Barrow, Alaska. La. In the fifth incident, four rescues were recorded 60 nautical miles southeast of Galveston, Texas. The first satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in 1982, followed by additional Soviet and U.S. satellites.
Today there are seven operational U.S. and Russian satellites involved in the program.