Russia's new reusable carrier rocket engine will have capacity for 50 flights: Roscosmos

The engine of the new reusable Russian carrier rocket Amur-SPG will be powerful enough to cover up to 50 space launches, Russian space agency Roscosmos informed. According to the official website, at least ten flights are currently speculated by the engine’s design. The launch cost of the new carrier rocket is also expected to reach $22 million. 

Files from Roscosmos read, “Consider measures to increase the possibility of using a serial liquefied (natural gas) rocket engine as part of the first stage of a launch vehicle up to 25, 50 times”. 

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'$5.2 million contract'

According to the document, the materials specified that the cost of launching the rocket without landing the first stage unit and reusing it and without using an upper stage, which allows satellites to be launched, should not exceed $30 million. Apart from this, the Russian Space Rocket Centre (SRC) Progress has not released much detail on the new carrier in order to protect the developers. Meanwhile, ANI reported that last year a $5.2 million contract was signed on the development of a rough design of the Amur-SPG medium-class rocket. 

The new Russian carrier rocket, which will launch in 2026, will have a first stage that could be reused up to ten times. In the reusable mode, Amur-SPG will be able to launch 9.5 tonnes of cargo into low-Earth orbit from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport. In a regular mode, the rocket will be able to carry 12 metric tons of cargo. According to reports, the design-to-cost principle will for the first be used in the Russian space industry which means design in compliance with the final cost. The launch cost will once again be calculated according to the global trends in the launch market in 2026. 

(With inputs from ANI) 

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