ORLANDO, Fla. _ After a 2016 explosion of a SpaceX rocket destroyed its satellite, Israeli satellite manufacturer Spacecom got a free do-over with Elon Musk's rocket company. This time, everything went as planned.
A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's launch complex 40 at 7:23 p.m. Tuesday night, carrying with it an updated version of the satellite Spacecom tried to send to space that September day in 2016 when an accident derailed the courses of Spacecom and SpaceX _ at least temporarily.
SpaceX wouldn't return to flight until 2017, after zeroing in on the issue with a pressure vessel that caused the explosion during a static fire test on the Space Coast. The $200 million satellite on board, called Amos-6, was destroyed.
Spacecom also went through challenges. CEO David Pollack said the explosion was a "significant setback" for the company.
But it decided to return to SpaceX for the launch of its next satellite, Amos-17, because of the rocket company's flawless flight record since the accident. Plus, the flight would be free of charge.
The Boeing-built Amos-17 satellite took the trip to space without any issues Tuesday. The satellite will bring internet connectivity to parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
There was no landing back at the Cape Tuesday, as SpaceX usually does, because the rocket was launching in expendable mode with no landing legs to be able to focus its thrust on the 14,330-pound satellite.
