The Coast Guard recently launched two small satellites for new search-and-rescue efforts in the Arctic — with the potential to improve domain awareness and communications as well.

On Monday last week, the U.S. Coast Guard launched its first satellites into space. By Tuesday, operators had already successfully detected signals from the two small satellites, named Kodiak and Yukon.

These CubeSats, about the size of shoeboxes, are part of the Polar Scout mission, undertaken with the Department of Homeland Security.

Kodiak and Yukon were among 64 other small satellites and CubeSats from 17 countries catching a ride on SpaceX’s SmallSat Express — the largest rideshare mission ever from a U.S. launch. Read more at ArcticToday.