The Aerospace Corporation has sponsored a project to design and build a spaceborne distress beacon add-on board for picosatellites. The design is capable of powering 18 3W LEDs using switching current regulators. The beacon is controlled by a microcontroller, which is triggered by external inputs. The beacon can flash the LEDs in pre-programmed patterns, such as Morse code. The design has been tested and found to operate to specifications. A standalone distributed wireless beacon design has also been developed.