MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. The development of a methane-powered Amur-LNG rocket with a recoverable stage is proceeding at a good pace, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov said at the educational marathon "Znanie. First" on Wednesday.

"The work on the Amur-LNG project is going on at a good pace," Borisov said. He recalled that the Progress space rocket center in Samara was involved in the project.

According to the Roscosmos chief, the methane engine will make it possible to ensure more than 50, perhaps even 100 launches of the first stage.

Roscosmos and the Progress center signed a contract in October 2020 to develop a preliminary design for a space system with Russia's first methane-powered reusable rocket, Amur. The rocket having a reusable first stage will be launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region.

On March 10, 2022, Roscosmos announced that it would push ahead with research into the reusable methane-powered Amur LNG launch vehicle. Its technical design is to be finalized by 2024.

The federal educational marathon "Znanie.First" is running at the Manezh exhibition hall in Moscow, as well as at venues in Yekaterinburg, Arkhangelsk, Pyatigorsk and Lugansk on April 24-26.