JERUSALEM, Israel -- A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket exploded on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Thursday taking with it the Amos-6 Israeli satellite it was due to carry into space over the weekend.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation but it occurred during refueling. There were no injuries.
The nearly $200 million satellite was going to be Facebook's first venture into space and was to have brought internet access across Africa as well as television service to providers in Europe and the Middle East.
"As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted.
"Fortunately, we have developed other technologies like Aquila that will connect people as well. We remain committed to our mission of connecting everyone, and we will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided" Zuckerberg said.
The Israel Space Agency said the satellite was a total loss and would have a "substantial effect on the agency," according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israel Aerospace industries, which built the satellite, said the Amos-6 was the "most advanced" to be built in Israel.
It's not the first time SpaceX has had problems. In June 2015, a SpaceX launcher disintegrated two minutes after liftoff. The Falcon-9 was scheduled to take cargo to the International Space Station.
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