[9] 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.

[11] During an interview with the Kazakhstani magazine Space Research and Technologies during 2013, Mr. Kirilin, CEO of TSKB Progress, explained the conception of the project.

[11] When the Rus-M project was cancelled, TSKB Progress started work sometime prior to mid-2015[clarification needed] on a methane fueled launch vehicle under the Roscosmos Magistral research program.

[11] The proposed Soyuz-7 was, unline previous Soyuz rockets, planned to use the same diameter for all sections of the rocket, 3.6 m (12 ft), use liquid methane and liquid oxygen, have a single engine with a single nozzle on each stage, and automate[clarification needed] most tasks.

The design concept for a reusable Russian launch vehicle, referred to as Amur, was unveiled publicly in 2020.

[12] The contract for the preliminary design phase of the Amur was signed on 5 October 2020, to build "the first Russian reusable methane rocket.

[12] In November 2024, Roscosmos official Igor Pshenichnikov, deputy director of future programs, revealed that they will look to develop a prototype Amur first stage called Grasshopper, and said that preparations for it would begin in 2025.

[12] In the mid-2010s, Soyuz-7 was initially conceived to be a scalable family, with three conceptual versions: By 2020, Roscosmos had pivoted the Soyuz-7 concept to the Amur, with a new design for a reusable, methane-fueled rocket.

[18] The first stage of the rocket will use grid fins to assist with attitude control during atmospheric reentry and is planned to be powered by five RD-0169A methalox engines,[8] which, as of 2020, were under development at the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau.