BUDAPEST, Hungary (4iG PLC PR) — 4iG PLC (“4iG” or “the Group”) announced its first international transaction, which will allow the Group to continue building its telecommunications portfolio and expanding its space industry business. 4iG and its two subsidiaries, Hungaro DigiTel and CarpathiaSat, have entered into a preliminary agreement with Space-Communication Ltd. (“Spacecom”) to acquire a 51 percent stake in the target company. Spacecom, which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, is a satellite operator and service provider with global coverage through its four geosynchronous satellites, providing services in Hungary and the region via its AMOS 3 satellite. Following due diligence of the Spacecom, the successful completion of the transaction is conditional upon the approval of the acquisition by SpaceCom’s General Assembly and the Israeli Ministry of Communications. The transaction is estimated to be worth USD 65 million.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster launched Spacecom’s AMOS-17 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday. The company’s Ms. Tree vessel caught half of the rocket’s payload fairing in a net as it descended under a parachute.

It was the second recovery of a fairing half by the net-equipped ship. A full fairing costs about $6 millions to manufacture.

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, August 6 for launch of AMOS-17 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The launch window opens at 6:53 p.m. EDT, or 22:53 UTC, and closes at 8:21p.m. EDT, or 00:21 UTC on August 7. The satellite will be deployed approximately 31 minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with a Dragon resupply ship on April 2, 2018. (Credit: NASA)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

SpaceX received $500 million of the nearly $1 billion in investment raised by commercial space companies during the first quarter of 2018, according to the Space Investment Quarterly report from Space Angels.

“SpaceX shows no signs of slowing down—after the inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy, the company secured $500 million from Fidelity Investments to drive development of their satellite communications network, Starlink,” the report added.

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Dragon capsule separated from Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

NASA will not publicly release the results of its own investigation into the catastrophic failure of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched a Dragon resupply ship into the Atlantic Ocean in June 2015.

After saying it would release a summary of the agency’s investigation, NASA passed the buck to the FAA on an accident that destroyed $118 million worth of cargo the space agency was sending to the International Space Station (ISS).

“Since it was an FAA licensed flight, NASA is not required to complete a formal final report or public summary, and has deferred any additional products related to the matter at this time,” the agency’s Public Affairs Office (PAO) said in an email.

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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the OA-6 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41. (Credit: ULA)

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The United States and China led the world in orbital launch attempts in 2016 with 22 apiece. The combined 44 launches made up more than half of the 85 flights conducted around the world.

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Credit: USLaunchReport.com

SpaceX provided the following update on the Falcon 9 return to flight this morning:

We are finalizing the investigation into our September 1 anomaly and are working to complete the final steps necessary to safely and reliably return to flight, now in early January with the launch of Iridium-1. This allows for additional time to close-out vehicle preparations and complete extended testing to help ensure the highest possible level of mission assurance prior to launch.

You will undoubtedly recall that the second stage of a Falcon 9 caught fire and exploded on the launch pad three months ago as it was being fueled for a pre-flight engine test. A Spacecom communications satellite valued at $195 million was destroyed in the accident.

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Credit: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Spacecom’s stock has crashed more than 40 percent after its Amos-6 communications satellite was destroyed in a SpaceX launch pad accident in Florida on Thursday.

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Dragon capsule separated from Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

With the failure of the Falcon 9 on Sunday, SpaceX’s only launch vehicle will be grounded for an unknown number of months while engineers identify the cause of the crash and make necessary changes to ensure that failure won’t happen again.

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ALEXANDRIA, VA, March 3, 2015 (SpaceCom PR) – SpaceCom, the Space Commerce Conference and Exposition, today announced a new partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) for the November 17-19 event at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

In support of NASA’s goal to create a sustainable, commercial space market, SpaceCom will unite global business executives with international space leaders to explore ways for the medical, manufacturing, energy, communications, and transportation sectors to utilize space technologies and achieve competitive advantage. SpaceCom will also examine ways to optimize the use of the International Space Station (ISS) and other Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications, as well as suborbital commercial activities.

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