Design of Amur-LNG with reusable 1st stage completed - Progress Rocket Space Center

MOSCOW. Aug 11 (Interfax) - The design of the Amur-LNG carrier rocket with a reusable first stage has been completed, Progress Rocket Space Center's acting general director Leonid Mikhailenko said.

"We plan the Amur-LNG's first launch in 2031. All of its design is completed, work is now focused precisely on the hardware," Mikhailenko said in a video published on Samara regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev's Max channel on Tuesday.

The enterprise's main task is to prepare to begin producing new promising Amur-LNG and Soyuz-5 carrier rockets, Mikhailenko said.

"We intend to develop this area this year. We have invested fairly big money and capabilities in production expansion. We hired about 600 people this year and are planning to continue hiring," Mikhailenko sadi.

The Amur rocket's flight tests are slated to begin in 2031, Roscosmos said earlier.

A demonstrator of the rocket's first reusable stage would be showcased within the next 18-24 months, Roscosmos' general director Dmitry Bakanov said on April 1.

The rocket would be ready by late 2027 - early 2028, Bakanov said on June 3, 2025.

The Amur-LNG launch site is under construction at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. It will provide a guided launch of the rocket's first stage and its multiple use for satellite launches. As reported, the first stage could be reused up to 50 times.

Amur-LNG is expected to replace Soyuz-2 rockets currently in use.