The first and the only Kazakh satellite, which was launched last year with a great PR and pompous celebrations, is out of control due to a computer glitch and is likely to be lost altogether. The sputnik, which was used by several local TV broadcasters, was an image thing for the country’s authorities - it was called to demonstrate Kazakhstan’s advanced technology and to claim that Kazakhstan is a “space nation” too.

Both messages were not that solid in reality. If you dig a little bit, you’ll see that the satellite was built in Russia, and operated also from Russia. While Kazakhstan did not directly blame Russia, sources within the space agency said that it mind need to buy some  space equipment from Western suppliers in the future.There are three more satellites that are to be launched to the orbit until 2020.

The first sputnik cost $60 million to $100 million at the time of launch, so it can be suggested that the whole program (withone fourth of it already broken) will cost nearly a billion dollars by the deadline in 2020. Interestingly, the former minister of transport and newly appointed head of KazMunaiGas national oil company Serik Burkitbayev said two years ago, in then capacity of independent expert, that KazSat is a totally outdated program.