Israeli firm to receive compensation over satellite explosion
Space Communication, an Israeli company, said it expects to receive £37 million ($50m) after the failed rocket launch
Space Communication, which owned the sophisticated Amos-6 satellite lost when the rocket it was to ride into space exploded on the launchpad, is set to receive more than $2 million in compensation from Israel Aerospace Industries.
Israel Aerospace Industries, or IAI, a government-owned corporation, provided the insurance for the satellite.
Space Communication, or SpaceCom, a publicly traded Israeli company, also said that it expects to receive $50 million from SpaceX or “have the launch of a future satellite carried out under the existing agreement and with the payments that have been made.”
The company’s stock has fallen some 45 percent since Thursday’s explosion of the unmanned SpaceX rocket, which was in the midst of routine fueling test for Saturday’s scheduled launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral when it exploded.
The rocket was scheduled to hoist into orbit the Amos 6 satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries and owned by SpaceCom Ltd. in partnership with Eutelsat Communications of France. It was expected to operate for 16 years in part on behalf of Facebook and bring Internet connectivity to sub-Saharan Africa and television service to providers in Europe and the Middle East. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the project in June 2015.
SpaceX is a private aerospace company found by Jewish entrepreneur, engineer and inventor Elon Musk. It reportedly was to be sold to China’s Beijing Xinwei Technology Group, in a deal reported to be worth $285 million, conditional on the successful launch of the satellite. It is not known how the explosion will affect the sale.
The cause of the accident continues to be under investigation. (JTA)
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