A major SpaceX explosion just destroyed Facebook's first satellite

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A major explosion during a SpaceX prelaunch test Thursday destroyed Facebook’s first satellite.

The satellite, AMOS-6, was a project of Facebook’s Internet.org program to deliver internet to the developing world. It was intended to ride a SpaceX Falcon 9 into orbit this Saturday, and would have been the first satellite the internet giant put in orbit.

It was valued at approximately $200 million, according to Spaceflight Now.

Mark Zuckerberg has released a statement on the incident:

The rocket on the launchpad when an explosion rocked Cape Canaveral, Florida, was a Falcon 9.

Ars Technica reporter Eric Berger tweeted that the explosion was the result of a launch pad anomaly, not a problem with the rocket — and that AMOS-6 was on board:

SpaceX confirmed that both the rocket and the satellite were lost:

AMOS-6 would have provided internet coverage to sub-Saharan Africa.

Here’s an image of the blast site:

(WFTV9 screenshot)

Here’s Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook post announcing AMOS-6 last year:

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