Roscosmos has begun the active phase of developing a reusable launch vehicle with a returnable first stage. The head of the state corporation, Dmitry Bakanov, announced at a meeting in the Federation Council that the technical task for the project was approved back in June 2025, and the necessary funding has already been allocated. According to him, the first demonstrator of the new rocket is planned to be presented within one and a half to two years — tentatively in 2028.
Bakanov emphasized that work on the project must be carried out urgently, but the specific technical parameters of the future rocket have not yet been disclosed. It is only known that the key feature of the design is the ability to return and reuse the first stage, which will reduce the cost of launches and increase the competitiveness of the Russian space industry.
Previously, similar solutions have already been successfully used by foreign companies, but the Russian development will be created taking into account domestic production capabilities and reliability requirements. Roscosmos expects that the demonstrator will be the first step towards the serial production of new generation reusable carriers.
