Launch of AMOS-17 Satellite Pushed Back Until July

The launch of communication satellite AMOS-17 has been postponed until July, Israel-based company Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom), which operates the AMOS satellites, announced Sunday.

In February, Spacecom said it expected to launch AMOS-17 in the second quarter of 2019, and that the satellite, which already has a client lined up, will start bringing profits as early as September.

In March, Spacecom reported a profitable 2018, a first since it lost its AMOS-6 satellite in a launch pad explosion in 2016. The accident ended up costing Spacecom hundreds of millions of dollars in lost contracts and caused its stock to plummet more than 70% in three years.