Will I lose my escape pod if I use it?

Solution 1:

When I try to use my escape pod, an error message shows, saying “The escape pod is unavailable at this time.”

My guess is that it's either for some mission, where you will have to use it, or it serves no purpose at all (for now?).

Solution 2:

It's for other people to get off your ship. For example, if you did a mission with a friend on board and they then want to do a different mission they can use the pod to leave your ship without you having to dock somewhere first. I have heard that when someone used it himself in his own ship he then had to redo the mission where he gets his craft again, so if you use it there's a chance that you'll lose your ship and have to redo the mission to retrieve it again, so don't use your own pod!