Like the Falcon 9, the top of the Amur rocket has a slightly wider fairing than the core of the rocket. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has a 5.2-meter diameter, and the proposed Amur has a 4.1-meter diameter.
Both rockets have a set of “grid fins” located at the top of the first stage and similar landing legs at the base.
The Falcon 9 is using nine engines and the first-stage rocket design allows it to return to its launch site or land on a nearby drone ship. The Amur booster is designed to use five RD-169 engines which will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia. And land at a site constructed along the Sea of Okhotsk.
Russia has no plans to “splashdown” in the sea. The Sea of Okhotsk typically has rough conditions and poor weather.
Elon Musk responds to Russian rocket plans
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Russia’s move to build a reusable rocket booster by 2026 is a “step in the right direction.”
The tech billionaire also gave the Russian space agency some friendly advice when he tweeted out this week, “They should really aim for full reusability by 2026. The larger rocket would also make sense for literal economies of scale. Goal should be to minimize cost per useful ton to orbit or it will at best serve a niche market,” Musk wrote. Then he noted that Russia’s efforts were still running 15 years behind SpaceX space exploration advances.
