Expanding the Emergency Alert System Enterprise with Space-Based Emergency Alerts

This paper investigates Space-Based Emergency Alerts (SBEA) as an additional alert system that is less susceptible to disruption by complex disasters such as wildfires or other widespread devastation. Emergency services play a crucial role in ensuring the survival and resilience of individuals, businesses, and communities in the face of disasters. There are numerous existing emergency alert systems managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) such as Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and Non-Weather Emergency Messages (NWEM). The most used system, WEA, is highly vulnerable to disruption by destructive disasters as it relies heavily on terrestrial-based infrastructure such as cellular towers. In this paper, an analysis of the existing systems is conducted and feasibility assessment for a new system is performed. The results of the analysis indicate that through recent advancement in mobile smartphone and satellite communication technology, the employment of a Space-Based Emergency Alert system, operating in conjunction with existing alert systems is likely, over time, to greatly enhance emergency alert performance and ultimately public safety.