Russia’s important Amur rocket delayed again
January 29, 2026
Russia’s rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, its Amur vehicle with its recoverable first-stage, is reportedly now unlikely to make its debut flights much before 2030.
One comment from Eric Berger, an acknowledged industry expert, suggested that the project, initially announced in a 2020 proposal, is now comically late. Berger said: “This indicates that Russia’s launch industry is now about 20 years behind that of SpaceX. How the mighty have fallen.”
Katya Pavlushchenko, an author at NASA SpaceFlight.com, noted: “The launch of AmurSPG, the planned methane-fueled rocket with a reusable first stage, is now planned after 2030. It was planned previously that the first Grasshopper-like prototype will begin test flights in 2025, but it looks like it isn’t finished yet.”
Russia’s Roscosmos Space Agency is silent on the comments.
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