First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov confirmed in an interview with Kommersant that the reusable medium-class launch vehicle Amur-SPG is entering the drop test phase. Two tests of the experimental model are ahead, during which a controlled takeoff and landing of the reusable stage will be practiced. This is Russia's first project for a medium-class launch vehicle with a reusable first stage.
The methane engine has already passed hot-fire tests, and the design of the launch pad for the new rocket has begun at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Specialists have also identified landing fields for the reusable stage. The launch and landing of the experimental model are scheduled for 2028.
At the same time, the production of medium-class Angara-A3 launch vehicles is not included in current plans – priority is given to Soyuz-5, which has already completed its first test flight, Manturov said. Thus, the Russian space program is concentrating resources on reusable and methane technologies, without spreading itself thin on expanding an outdated lineup.
In April, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov announced that a demonstrator of the first reusable stage of the Amur-SPG rocket is planned to be presented within one and a half to two years.
Read more on the topic:
- "Amur" Again Drifts Right: Reusable Rocket Tests Postponed to 2031
- Reusable rocket being tested in Russia: engine already fire-tested
- Russia to Return to the Elite of Cosmonautics: Launch of Reusable Amur-SPG Rocket Accelerated by Two Years