A new satellite network launched by SpaceX last week will apparently make it impossible for commercial airplanes to go missing. According to CBS, the new Iridium Communications satellites will have improved airplane-tracking abilities, helping reduce the number of flights that vanish without a trace.
To make the satellites useful, however, the planes will need to have GPS transponders, which are still not common in all commercial aircraft. By 2020, though, all such flights operating in the U.S. and Europe will be required by law to have them on-board, making it easy to track them throughout their journey.