SpaceX Reportedly Launching Satellites For iPhone’s Emergency SOS Feature

Globalstar, the company that manages the satellites used by the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, has reportedly enlisted SpaceX to launch more of them.

The move was reportedly confirmed via a federal filing earlier this week, with SpaceX receiving $64 million for the work according to a report by Nola.

As part of a deal signed Monday, Globalstar will have to pay SpaceX a total of $64 million for “launch-related payments on a periodic basis” from now until the satellites are sent into space in 2025, according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filing. SpaceX is the spacecraft manufacturer founded by Musk, who is CEO of Tesla and owns X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The iPhone’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature helps people call for help even if they don’t have a cellular signal, like at the top of mountains or in the desert. It’s already helped to save multiple lives since it launched last year, with the new satellites presumably coming online to help Apple roll the feature out to new countries.

Right now, Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite is available in a select number of countries including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and Portugal.

It’s only available on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 14 Pro Max right now but that will change when the iPhone 15 lineup arrives on September 12.

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