At a news conference in Almaty, space agency chief Talgat Musayev said the satellite, named KazSat, was failing to respond to commands and there was a "very high" chance it could not be recovered.

"Control of the satellite was lost on June 8," he said, going on to pour scorn on the poor quality of the satellite, designed by Russian state firm Khrunichev.

KazSat was launched in June 2006 in the presence of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his then Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Kazakhstan is host to Russia's main civilian space launch pad at Baikonur and is trying to develop its own space programme with Moscow's help.

The Central Asian state is experiencing booming revenues from its vast oil and gas sector.

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