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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was scheduled to carry an Amos 6 communications satellite for the Israeli company Spacecom on Saturday exploded on the Cape Canaveral launch pad at 9:07 (EST) Thursday morning, destroying the satellite as well.

The Amos 6 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket. Courtesy: SpaceX

The company said the launch pad was clear and no one was injured in the accident, adding in a statement: “SpaceX can confirm that in preparation for today’s standard pre-launch static fire test, there was an anomaly on the pad resulting in loss of the vehicle and its payload.”

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Spacecom Satellite Communications Ltd is being acquired by Beijing Xinwei Technology Group for $285 million. According to industry media reports, the transaction’s terms were pending on the successful entry into service of Spacecom’s Amos-6 telecommunications satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries and scheduled for launch Saturday, Sept. 3, aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Israeli scientists developing the AMOS-6 satellite.

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, a.k.a. SpaceX, is owned by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, who also owns the electric car company Tesla.

Spacecom, developed the Amos-6 satellite for Facebook and the French satellite provider, Eutelsat, in a venture intended to supply free Internet to millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

The project is part of Facebook’s Internet.org non-for-profit initiative of providing affordable or free Internet to countries with limited or no access to what founder, Mark Zuckerberg describes as “the knowledge economy.”

AMOS-6 was designed to be able to cover the Middle East, Central East Europe and much of Africa.

 

 

Content by Alexander J. Apfel/TPS was used in this report.

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David writes news at JewishPress.com.