How SpaceX Explosion Affects Israeli Company Space Plans

The controversial explosion of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 has dampened the commercial space industry especially for the satellite makers in Israel. The rocket exploded on Sept.1 destroying Facebook's Internet satellite Amos-6 created by an Israeli company.

The explosion that occurred on Sept. 1 in Cape Canaveral base rocked the commercial space flight industry. The doomed Falcon 9 was being fuelled when the explosion occurred destroying with it Facebook's Internet satellite. The satellite was supposed to be launched to space last Saturday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently in Africa, expressed his disappointment over the incident. "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, Zuckerberg said in a statement.

The incident was a blow not only to SpaceX, one of the leading commercial space flight company today but also to the Israeli satellite producer Space Communication Ltd. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg commissioned Space Communication to create the Internet satellite called Amos-6. Facebook and Space Communication have been partners for some time now in developing new satellite technologies to be able to beam Internet to different parts of the world.

Reports say that the Israeli company doesn't know what to do now that their priced Amos-6 satellite was destroyed. One option is for their government to try and keep the independence of their space industry. The government and the people concerned with the country's space industry will hold a conference to discuss what could be their next move amid the SpaceX incident.

To save Israeli's space program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be capable of releasing about $300 million to pay state-owned weapons builder Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd, to create another satellite for Space Communication. But before that, it has to be proven that rebuilding the lost satellite is of national importance to Israel

"This is a traumatic experience for the industry but allows us to hold this discussion that should have happened 10-15 years ago," Yossi Weiss, chief executive office of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd said in a statement.

The Amos-6 satellite was also created by the Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. Israel's strategic space program was born from the country's military operations and their space independence is considered valuable to the country.

Today, SpaceX is still picking up clues to find what could have caused the explosion.

Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still unknown. More soon.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2016

This only proves that the unfortunate SpaceX explosion did not only hinder Facebook from delivering Internet services to remote areas, but it has greatly affected Israel's space industry as well.