/sci/ - Science & Math

Yuri Borisov: "Amur-SPG Rocket" and Super-light carrier will be reusable"

"We need a cheap, cost-effective carrier to replace the Seven (R-7), so we started creating a promising carrier Amur-LNG. In addition, we are working on ultralight carriers. I hope that sometime around the turn of 2028-2029 we will upgrade the launch vehicle fleet and be able to regain our position in the global launch services market."

— Can I tell you more about the ultralight carrier, is there already a name of the project and its understanding?
— For about two or three years, work on it was commissioned by the Foundation for Advanced Research, it was, in fact, of a startup nature. The work was not advertised, since this carrier is quite innovative in its design and technological solutions, new alloys and composite materials are used there. The tests of the experimental stages of the future carrier were, in principle, successful, which proves the correctness of the design decisions. Today we are interested in manufacturing engines and confirming the characteristics that they contain. If everything goes well, we will speed up this work.

— Is the reusability of the ultralight carrier envisaged?
- Just like in the Amur LNG project, the ultralight carrier provides for reusability. The type of fuel that is supposed to be used there — liquefied natural gas — has the best characteristics for flights of the return stage, and the preparation cycle is much lower than, say, rockets that use classic rocket fuel components.