Nikulin until now held position as Director of the Moscow Machine Building Factory Vympel, web site Infox.ru writes.
The previous director of Moscow Heat Technology Institute, Yury Solomonov, resigned after a failed launch of the missile in July, as Vedomosti reported.
Russia has conducted twelve tests with the Bulava missile. Six of the tests have ended in failure. The failed launch of 15 July was a serious blow to Russian authorities, who have been investing heavily both money and prestige in the project.
As BarentsObserver has reported, the many failed launches of the Bulava missiles have triggered speculations about a possible replacement of the vessel with the Sineva missile. This was later denied by Head of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov, and Head of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vystosky recently claimed that another launch is planned before the end of the year.
