Russia CAN'T STOP Copying SpaceX and Elon Musk

When it comes to the space research, Russia is considered amongst its pioneers. Sending the first man and woman in space, performing the first lunar flyby using Luna 1, or launching a space flight with more than one crew member through Voskhod 1 – you name it and the Soviets achieved it!
However, the long-maintained dominance of Russian space tech is being overshadowed by Space X and they are trying to catch up by launching their own reusable rockets.Show more

When Space X became the first private company to launch a crewed flight, cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, the executive director for crewed space programs at Roscosmos, said:
“The success of the mission will provide us with additional opportunities that will benefit the whole international program".

The Russian space agency has earned large sums by ferrying astronauts but if SpaceX starts taking up all US astronauts, the annual losses for Roscosmos could be more than US$200 million!
ROSCOSMOS, has announced plans to build ‘Amur’ which is pretty much a carbon copy of Space X’s Falcon 9 according to some critics.

As of now, Musk’s Space X is the only space agency maintaining a fleet of reusable rockets with many feathers to their cap.
The Falcon 9 has currently performed more than 100 successful launches and this is making the Russians uneasy.

To avoid being left out, Roscosmos is planning to enter the industry with a reusable rocket before 2026 which is crucial for them especially when Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos is trying to catch up too using Shepard Boosters.
It signed a contract with Progress Rocket and Space Center on October 5, 2020 for the development of “Amur”.

Amur would be a launch vehicle that would serve as Russia’s very first reusable methane rocket at a cost of about 22 million $.
The Amur is a two-stage medium-class carrier launch vehicle with burst designs very identical to Falcon 9’s and what the Russians want to do is to launch it close to 100 times as well, ensuring smooth vertical landings.

Alexander Bloshenko, executive director for long-term projects in science at Roscosmos said that the Amur would be as reliable as the assault rifle.
The Falcon 9 has Grid or Lattice fins fixed close to the top of its first stage that can be observed in the Amur’s design as well.

The folding legs of the Falcon 9 can be found on the Amur as well which cannot go unnoticed.
Contrary to expectations, it seems like Elon Musk is not threatened by this. He shares the same idea even with Tesla where he does not hide the blueprints and makes them available for other competitors to replicate.

Elon Musk made a tweet and encouraged the development saying that it was a step in the right direction while hoping that Roscosmos aims for full reusability by 2026.
Larger rockets, he said, would also make sense for lateral economies of scale... and that the goal should be to minimize the cost per useful ton to orbit.
Apart from the similarities, there are notable differences between Amur and the Falcon 9.
The Amur is designed to be a cheaper, smaller, and less powerful variant to the Falcon 9 at a cost of around 17 million Euros for every launch.
Falcon 9 costs almost double the amount at 38 million euros per launch based on the initial estimates by the Roscosmos.

The Amur has a height of about 180 feet 55 meters while the Falcon 9 stands taller at the height of about 208 feet 63 meters.
Coming onto payload, the Amur can carry about 11.6 tons into low earth’s orbit and the Falcon 9 takes it again with the capacity to carry a whooping 25.1 tons!
Amur's booster stage features five RD-0169A methane oxygen engines as compared to the 9 liquid Oxygen and Kerosene merlin engines on the Falcon 9.

It is predicted that Amur would replace the existing Russian fleet of Soyuz 2 launch vehicles.
All launches from the rocket are set to take place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome Spaceport above the 51st parallel north in the Amur Oblast which seeks to end Russia’s reliance on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Amur has a central engine which is responsible for landing the stage back to earth. The engine is designed to operate three times: At the launch of the rocket, when the reentry stage is decelerated in heavier and thicker layers of atmosphere and the third, upon a return to the ground.
Whether or not you believe that Amur is a copy of Falcon 9, the capabilities of Roscosmos in space technology are immense and they should not be underestimated.

Some healthy competition can always contribute to the progress of society. Let us see what time brings for the space industry!