Soyuz-7
| Function | Partially reusable orbital medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Project cost | US$900 million |
| Cost per launch | US$22 million (planned) |
| Size | |
| Height | 55 m (180 ft) |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft) |
| Mass | 360,000 kg (790,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| 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) |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft) |
| Powered by | 5 RD-0169 |
| Maximum thrust | 3,330 kN (750,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | Sea Level:321 seconds Vacuum: 356 seconds |
| Propellant | CH4 / LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 4.1 m (13 ft) |
| Powered by | RD-0169 |
| Maximum thrust | 737 kN (166,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | CH4 / LOX |
The Soyuz-7 (Russian: Союз-7) or Amur (Russian: Аму́р) is a partially-reusable, methane–fueled, orbital launch vehicle currently in the design concept stage of development by the Roscosmos State Corporation in Russia. The preliminary design process began in October 2020, with operational flights planned for no earlier than 2028. Amur is intended to substitute for the existing Soyuz-2, at a much lower per launch cost.
This is a proposed family of new Russian rockets proposed by JSC SRC Progress in the mid-2010s, to replace the legacy Soyuz for launch after the early 2020s. JSC SRC Progress had been the manufacturer and custodian of the Soyuz family design for many decades. The new design concept was a part of Project Feniks (Russian: Феникс, lit. 'Fenix'). While all previous iterations of the Soyuz family had their roots firmly set on the R-7 ICBM legacy, the new rocket, designated Soyuz-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 and liquid methane, use a new tank structure, new propulsion, and would do away with the famous Korolev Cross, and have thrust vector control in the main engine rather than using vernier engines. It was conceived in 2013 to be a scalable family with three versions covering the medium to heavy payload ranges.
The project would help to assure access to space for Russia by acting as a backup launcher in the event of problems with the Angara rocket family.
As conceived in the mid-2010s, the smallest version was to be a 270-tonne rocket, intended as a replacement of the Soyuz-2 rocket, with an expected payload to LEO of 9 t (9,000 kg). It will use a single RD-0164 engine on the first stage, and a RD-0169 engine on the second. The first engineering design was expected to be completed by 2016, and the first flight expected as early as 2022. The use of just two stages for the base version, and the simplification of subsystems was intended to product a more reliable and less-expensive launch vehicle, with the lightest version expected to be cheaper than the Soyuz-2.