SpaceX, a company of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, was supposed to launch Facebook’s Amos-6 satellite into orbit. The said satellite would have brought internet connectivity to a large part of sub-Saharan Africa as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet.org initiative. But that plan went up in flames when its communication satellite was destroyed after the SpaceX rocket exploded.
The explosion was caused by an “anomaly” that occurred while fuel was being loaded into it, according to SpaceX. Luckily, no one was reportedly hurt.
The satellite launch was part of Zuckerberg’s vision to provide the entire world with internet. In a post on his Facebook account, Zuckerberg said that he was “deeply disappointed” with the unexpected event. But said that he remained committed to his goal of providing connectivity to everyone.
The satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries, is valued at around $200 million. It was also covered by a $95 million lease deal secured by a partnership between Facebook and French satellite operator Eutelsat. Fortunately for all the parties parties involved, the satellite was covered by an insurance policy.
