Amur’s Path to Reusable Rockets Slips Again, With Tests Slated for 2028

Roscosmos’s Amur program, Russia’s answer to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, aims to develop a reusable first stage but is delayed: a demonstrator is planned to perform two grasshopper-style tests starting in 2028 (sub‑1 km hop then a 10 km hop with engine restart), with broader flight tests eyed for around 2031 and an eventual replacement for Soyuz 2. The schedule has shifted from the original 2026 target, suggesting Amur may not fly for years and is unlikely to materialize until at least two decades after SpaceX first reused an orbital booster.