If you're putting yourself into a situation where you need emergency communications buying an Iridium phone or beacon is a far far better idea. I suspect this might put people off a safety conscious decision because there is some assumption they can fall back on the iPhone, which is extremely difficult to use in this mode I understand, you know when you're injured or incapacitated.
Casual stuff, you might be lucky...
I'm pretty sure the use case is for the casual user that doesn't know they need it until they need it. Someone that knows they're going into a situation where they are smart enough to think through the risks are probably also smart enough to weigh all their options.
SpaceX advertises that a Falcon 9 launch costs $52M.
Globalstar will pay SpaceX $64 million according to the details of the arrangement, which were disclosed in an SEC filing. Payments will be made from 2023 to 2025, which is when SpaceX plans to launch the satellites.
so SpaceX regularly shoots satellites up for for StarLink, wonder whether this will be using StarLink or another type of satellite ...
Pretty sure it will be Globstar satellites actually being launched, not Starlink. Given the price, and that it sounds like multiple launches, they are likely ride-sharing to orbit with other customers.
How do we know those satellite are just for the SOS function?
They are almost certainly not just for the SOS function and likely an expansion of Globstar's coverage or replacements for satellites that are at the end of their life.
Elon isn’t a part of any Apple supply chain as suggested. He’s providing a glorified taxi. He’s a bus driver at best
He is what he is, but he almost assuredly had nothing to do with the decision of Globstar to use SpaceX for the launch. SpaceX offering safe and reliable access to space for 1/3 the cost of any competitor at a launch pace never seen before is the only real factor.
Dude is an eccentric rich person who used his wealth and charisma to surround himself with people smarter than him and convinced them they could do something everyone else said could not be done. Sounds like a guy named Steve who insisted he could make a computer that was so easy and friendly to use that it would become central to everyday life. That guy said a lot of things people didn't like either, but he sure succeeded in creating the "impossible" too.
