Distress beacon

A distress beacon is an automated signal device used in the event of an emergency in space. Various forms of distress beacons exist, including emergency locator beacons, while a particular type of beacon that utilizes slipstream space is colloquially referred to as the slipbeacon. Distress beacons are mounted on most human starships, and are compact enough to fit in a cryo-tube.

An emergency locator beacon was used by Cortana when the rear half of the was left stranded in space after the Battle of Installation 00. When Operation: BLOWBACK went awry, Team Black used a slipbeacon to send a distress signal to FLEETCOM. The fetcher Oliver Birch used one after he and his dog Mabel became stranded in deep space in a cryo-tube. During the Second Ark Conflict, Captain James Cutter devised a plan to plant a distress beacon on Installation 09 and dispatch it to the Soell system, the former home of Installation 04. There, the beacon would be within range of Reach to contact the UNSC and have them send the help on the Ark. However, while Professor Ellen Anders succeeded in planting the beacon and launching the Halo ring into slipspace, it was intercepted in mid-transit by a Guardian, keeping the message from being received.

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Blood Line
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Halo 4
 * Halo Wars 2