MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. Russian specialists will use composite materials and additive technologies (3D-printing) in the new Amur methane-powered reusable rocket being developed in Russia, Roscosmos Executive Director for Long-Term Programs and Science Alexander Bloshenko told TASS on Friday.

The rocket’s conceptual design is set to be examined in autumn this year, he said.

"The rocket is set to embrace composite materials, additive technologies and the bionic design that makes the structure lighter without detriment to its strength," Bloshenko noted.

The first stage of the rocket’s conceptual designing has been implemented, the Roscosmos official said.

The new rocket will feature ambitious characteristics that will make it competitive by 2026-2027, he added.

Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos and the Progress Space Rocket Center signed a contract in October last year on the conceptual designing of a space rocket system with Russia’s Amur first reusable methane-fueled rocket. The rocket will get a reusable first stage and will be launched from the Vostochny spaceport in the Russian Far East.

In February, Director of the Progress Space Rocket Center (part of Roscosmos) Dmitry Baranov said that the work on the conceptual design of the Amur methane-fueled rocket was due to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. In turn, Bloshenko said in a live broadcast of the Big Space TV program that the conceptual designing would be completed in September.

The Amur is a commercial carrier rocket. With its reusable stage, it will be capable of delivering up to 10.5 tonnes of payload into a low near-Earth orbit compared to 8.5 tonnes carried by Soyuz-2 rockets.