I posted a simple shuttle in the community content section recently and carry a ready to spawn blueprint in my inventory. That way, I have a ready to use ship with a radar jammer, some cargo space if required and a 2.5 thrust to mass ratio so can zip away from a danger zone if the need arises. I also have a simple salvager and could use this if I am still trying to gather resources to progress.
I was forced to use this to get back to my ship after a server glitch exited me 20km away. I buzzed back to my ship, passing within about 4km from a pirate station (glad I included a radar jammer) and then dismantled my little shuttle and bought the blueprint again at the next shop I found.
True, you don't need anything as fancy as that, just a few blocks of power, thruster, core and maybe a radar jammer. This escape pod could be the difference between getting back on your feet again or a very long space walk to the nearest asteroid, derelict, shop or homebase.
The distress beacon reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Maybe the devs could use the wormhole visuals and move you to the nearest "friendly" base or shop.
Additionally, I think it is a bit of a hindrance that only your own shops can take money deposits. It would be great if you could deposit or withdraw cash from any shop. Shops owned by other players could take a "cut" perhaps?
I'm sure many of these "tweaks" will eventually make their way into the game, especially with the NPC factions moving about.