A series of Israeli communication satellites built by Israel Aerospace Industries and operated by Spacecom once in orbit. The first satellite in the series (Amos-1) was launched on 16 May 1996, followed by four more successful flights between 2003 and 2013 (Amos 2–5); the satellites were launched using five different rockets, from three different launch sites. Amos-5 (the only satellite in the series built by JSC Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev in Russia) failed in orbit in 2015, and all communications with it were lost. Amos-6, designed to replace Amos-2 and considered to be the most-advanced Israeli communications satellite in history, exploded during fuelling on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral in 2016. The blast decimated the £150 million Israeli-built device, causing a major setback to Israel’s space program. Amos 7 began operations in February 2017 and will replace the ageing Amos 2; it has a 15-year life expectancy.