MOSCOW. May 30 (Interfax) - The Russian private space company SR Space, formerly known as Success Rockets, will conduct fire trials of a liquid-fuel rocket engine in June, the date of the next launch of a space rocket of its own design will be set afterwards, SR Space General Director Oleg Mansurov said in an interview with Interfax.
"We will know the exact date of the next launch after the trials of our engine. We want to test the engine in June, after which the launch date could be discussed," Mansurov said.
This is a methane-oxygen engine with a one-tonne thrust, he said.
"Our next launch will reach the Karman line [internationally recognized boundary of space - 100 kilometers above sea level], which means it will be a space launch," Mansurov said.
He also said that SR Space is working on a family of methane-fueled engines, the first of which will have a one-tonne thrust and the other a 3.5-tonne thrust.
SR Space performed the first suborbital launch of the NEBO25 rocket in the Astrakhan region on December 23. The rocket flew over 18 kilometers and reached a seven-kilometer apogee altitude.