EgyptSat-A Launch Emergency Possibly Caused by Expiring Warranty Period of Soyuz - Source

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) The Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket whose third stage failed during Thursday's launch of the EgyptSat-A satellite was nearing the end of its warranty period, a source in the Russian space industry told Sputnik Friday.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday that EgyptSat-A had been successfully delivered to the designated orbit and was operating in a regular regime.

However, Russian space industry sources told Sputnik that the third stage of the Soyuz rocket failed to bring the Egyptian satellite to a target orbit, and the Fregat booster was used to compensate for the orbiting error.

"Soyuz 2-1b was made in October 2012 with the warranty period of six and a half years, which expires in April 2019. The emergency with the third stage was possibly related to the age of the rocket," the source said.