Facebook wasn’t the only one who saw millions of its dollars go up in smoke when a SpaceX rocket exploded on a Cape Canaveral launch pad last Thursday. Facebook was actually making use of a satellite operated by Spacecom, an Israeli-based satellite operator, in it’s attempt to expand internet use on the entire continent of Africa.




And now that that satellite is just a pile of vaporized junk, Spacecom, according to Reuters, would like SpaceX to pony up $50 million dollars. Or give the company a free trip on a future rocket.

In addition to demanding money from SpaceX, Spacecom is also collecting $205 million from Israel Aircraft Industries, who built the satellite that went up in flames.


Spacecom’s request for compensation is the first official one from a satellite owner involved with Thursday’s explosion. While Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is “deeply disappointed” by the explosion, Facebook has not yet announced what it plans to do next.

Unlike Spacecom, who has been in the satellite business for over twenty years, Facebook is brand new to interstellar launches, and had put quite a bit of hope into its investment in Spacecom’s satellite.

[Reuters]

Correction (3:39pm EST 9/4/16): This article originally suggested the Facebook and Spacecom satellite were two separate satellites.