Communications
GLOBALSTAR M069
Mobile Satellite Communications (Apple Emergency SOS Network) · Globalstar
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One of Globalstar's second-generation satellites, part of the constellation that today provides the infrastructure behind Apple's Emergency SOS via satellite feature on every iPhone 14 and later. Built by Thales Alenia Space and launched starting in 2010 to replace an aging first-generation fleet, Globalstar's satellites use a simple 'bent pipe' design — receiving a signal and immediately retransmitting it to a ground station, with all the complex processing handled on Earth rather than in orbit. Apple reserves 85% of Globalstar's total network capacity for iPhone emergency messaging.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 984–986 mi (1,584–1,586 km)
- Inclination
- 52.0°
- One orbit
- 117.7 minutes12.2 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 31573
- Int’l designator
- 2007-020C
- Launched
- 2007
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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