Roskosmos will work to establish independent quality controls, he said.

Russia’s failure to launch the satellites was caused by a clogged fuel pipe which led to an engine failure in the rocket’s upper stage, called the Briz-M, which meant the craft went into the wrong orbit, Popovkin said on Thursday.

The agency had earlier said the Briz-M booster had fired its engines on schedule but they had burned for only seven seconds of the programmed 18 minutes and 5 seconds needed.

The problem was similar to that which led to the loss of a $265-million communications satellite last year.

Such failures for Russia, which conducts 40 percent of global space launches, may undermine its standing in the market, strengthening competitors such as Europe’s Ariane rocket.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Pravin Char)