IPFS News Link • Israel
Israeli Amos-17 satellite successfully launched into space
• timesofisrael.com, By Shoshanna SolomonIsraeli satellite Amos-17 was successfully blasted into space overnight Wednesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
President Reuven Rivlin hailed the successful launch, saying it was a "morning full of pride," and thanking those involved for their "important work for the State of Israel."
The launch was originally planned for last weekend, but was delayed due to a possibly defective piece of equipment on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the craft into space. Spacecom, which designed the satellite, said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Friday that the launch was delayed due to a suspected faulty valve discovered during testing of the rocket.
The launch of the Amos-17, the firm's newest and "most advanced" satellite, to provide services over Africa, was scheduled to take place almost three years after Spacecom lost its Amos-6 satellite in an explosion on the launchpad of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in September 2016.