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|
 | |
| Function | Partially reusableorbitalmedium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Project cost | US$900 million[2] |
| Cost per launch | US$22 million(planned) |
| Size | |
| Height | 55 m (180 ft) |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft)[3] |
| Mass | 360,000 kg (790,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload toLEO | |
| Mass | Reusable: 10,500 kg (23,100 lb) Expendable: 13,600 kg (30,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | Soyuz-2 (rocket) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | In development |
| Launch sites | Vostochny Cosmodrome |
| First flight | 2028–2030 (planned)[4] |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft)[3] |
| Powered by | 5RD-0169[3][5] |
| Maximum thrust | 3,330 kN (750,000 lbf)[6] |
| Specific impulse | Sea Level:321 seconds Vacuum: 356 seconds |
| Propellant | CH4 /LOX[7] |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft)[3] |
| Powered by | RD-0169[7] |
| Maximum thrust | 737 kN (166,000 lbf)[6] |
| Propellant | CH4 /LOX[7] |
TheSoyuz-7 (Russian:Союз-7) orAmur (Russian:Аму́р) is a partially-reusable,methane–fueled,orbitallaunch vehicle currently in the design concept stage ofdevelopment by theRoscosmos State Corporation in Russia. The preliminary design process began in October 2020, with operational flights planned for no earlier than 2030.[4] Amur is intended to substitute for the existingSoyuz-2, at a much lower per launch cost.[8]
This is a proposed family of new Russianrockets proposed byJSC SRC Progress in the mid-2010s, to replace the legacySoyuz for launch after the early 2020s. JSC SRC Progress had been the manufacturer and custodian of the Soyuz family design for many decades.[9] The new design concept was a part of ProjectFeniks (Russian:Феникс,lit. 'Fenix').[not verified in body] While all previous iterations of the Soyuz family had their roots firmly set on theR-7ICBM legacy, the new rocket, designatedSoyuz-7 in 2013, was to be a completely new design from the ground up. The proposed new design was to be based on a new propellant:LOX andliquid methane, use a new tank structure, newpropulsion, and would do away with the famousKorolev Cross, and havethrust vector control in the main engine rather than usingvernier engines.[9] It was conceived in 2013 to be a scalable family with three versions covering themedium toheavy payload ranges.[9]
The project would help to assure access to space for Russia by acting as a backup launcher in the event of problems with theAngara rocket family.[7]
As conceived in the mid-2010s, the smallest version was to be a 270-tonne rocket, intended as a replacement of theSoyuz-2 rocket, with an expected payload toLEO of 9 t (9,000 kg). It will use a singleRD-0164 engine on the first stage, and aRD-0169 engine on the second.[10] The first engineering design was expected to be completed by 2016,[needs update] and the first flight expected as early as 2022.[citation needed] The use of just two stages for the base version, and the simplification of subsystems was intended to produce a more reliable and less-expensivelaunch vehicle, with the lightest version expected to be cheaper than the Soyuz-2.[11]
During an interview with theKazakhstani magazineSpace Research and Technologies during 2013, Mr. Kirilin, CEO of TSKB Progress, explained the conception of the project.[11] When theRus-M project was cancelled, TSKB Progress started work sometime prior to mid-2015[clarification needed] on a methane fueled launch vehicle under the RoscosmosMagistral research program.[11]
The venerable Soyuz rocket vehicle would be an approximately 60-year-old design by 2020 and it could not remain competitive with the new vehicles,[according to whom?] like theFalcon 9. It was described by Progress CEO, Mr. Kirilin, astechnologically and operationally hopelessly outdated.[11] It has conical sections, where each panel is unique, it uses six engines with 24 nozzles, most rocket manufacturing tasks include a number of manual operations, it even requires five different fluids:kerosene,liquid oxygen,hydrogen peroxide, gaseousnitrogen and gaseoushelium. Looking forward, the price ofRG-1 fuel was going up, since it could only be distilled from a single oil field, that, by 2015, was expected to be depleted soon.[11]
The proposedSoyuz-7 was, unline previous Soyuz rockets, planned to use the same diameter for all sections of the rocket, 3.6 m (12 ft), useliquid methane andliquid oxygen, have a single engine with a single nozzle on each stage, and automate[clarification needed] most tasks.[11] The proposed new rocket was conceived to use the existing Soyuz pads and installations after some modifications.Liquid methane is cheap, Russia has ample reserves and it has a huge installed base. It also has some important thermal and polymerizing properties that paves the way for reusable rockets. The rocket was expected to use theKBKhARD-0164[clarification needed] engine in the core[clarification needed] stages, and a methane version of the KBKhARD-0124[clarification needed] in the upper stage.[11]
During an August, 2015 interview with Ria Novosti, Mr. Kirilin stated that a preliminary design was expected in 2015 or 2016,[needs update] that they intended to first develop a light version[clarification needed], that they anticipated an initialtest flight of the first prototype in 2022 and that the propulsion would be the RD-0164 for the cores[clarification needed] and the RD-0169[clarification needed] rocket engine for the upper stage.[7]
However, this project, part ofSoyuz-5, was abandoned when Soyuz-5 evolved into a replacement forZenit family named Irtysh,[when?] withRKK Energia as manufacturer. The methalox rocket was later renamed to Soyuz-7.
The design concept for a reusable Russian launch vehicle, referred to asAmur, was unveiled publicly in 2020. The design was shown to have a "reusable first stage andmethane-fueled engines andland like theFalcon 9. The maiden launch was then planned for 2026.[12]
The contract for the preliminary design phase of the Amur was signed on 5 October 2020, to build "the first Russian reusable methane rocket."[13] The design reference goals included high-reliability, operational launch cost target ofUS$22 million, and a reusablefirst stage, with anexpendable second stage.[13]The 2020 Roscosmos budget had a "not to exceed" program cost of 70 billion rubles (US$880 million) for the development program through the first launch.[14] As of 2020, the rocket design was expected to follow the practice ofSpaceX with the Falcon 9 to design the first stage for reusability.[8][15] and the rocket engine to be reused 100 or more times.[13]
By November 2024, little progress had been made, with the debut having slipped four years, from 2026 to 2030.[12]
In November 2024, Roscosmos official Igor Pshenichnikov, deputy director of future programs, revealed that they will look to develop a prototype Amur first stage calledGrasshopper, and said that preparations for it would begin in 2025. Roscosmos has not yet located the site for where the launch pad will be located to test the experimental vehicle.[12]
In the mid-2010s,Soyuz-7 was initially conceived to be a scalable family, with three conceptual versions:
By 2020, Roscosmos had pivoted theSoyuz-7 concept to theAmur, with a new design for a reusable, methane-fueled rocket.[12]
In 2020, Amur is planned to be a 4.1 m (13 ft)-diametertwo-stage-to-orbit,medium-lift[8] vehicle of 55 m (180 ft) height, with a gross liftoff mass of 360 t (790,000 lb).[14][13] It is aimed to deliver a payload tolow Earth orbit of 10.5 t (23,000 lb),[8] but could loft 12.5 t (28,000 lb) if the first stage is expended and not reused, as all traditional launch vehicles of the early space age were.[14] Amur is planned to launch from theVostochny Cosmodrome in theRussian Far East.[18]
The first stage of the rocket will usegrid fins to assist withattitude control duringatmospheric reentry and is planned to be powered by five RD-0169Amethalox engines,[8] which, as of 2020, were under development at theChemical Automatics Design Bureau.[13]The long-term target is for most of the engines to fire 100 times, but the center engine, reignited for descent through theatmosphere and again forlanding operations withlanding legs,[8] will be aimed to eventually reach a life expectancy of 300 engine firings.[13]
As of 2020[update], the ground test program for the newmethalox-propellant engines was expected to be completed by late 2024.[18][needs update] However, as of November 2024, the maiden launch of Amur has been delayed to 2030.
| Serial number | Rocket & serial | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amur | NET 2030[12] | Vostochny Cosmodrome Site 2A | GVM-M(Simulated mass) | LEO | TBD | First test flight of Amur |
