On Monday session tender committee will elect new Director General of Moscow Thermotechnics Institute (MTI), lead developer of Bulava sea-based ballistic missile, said the source in Roskosmos to RIA Novosti.
There were 11 test launches of Bulava; six of them were abortive including the latest two. On July, 16, after off-nominal operation of primary stage the missile was self-destructed. Yuri Solomonov, MTI Director and General Designer wrote a letter of resignation afterwards.
The committee comprises representatives of Roskosmos, Presidential Envoys to different Federal Districts, representatives of Ministry of Defense and Russian military industrial complex.
Bulava is planned to be among weapons of new generation of Russian strategic submarines.
Intercontinental sea-based ballistic missile R30 3?30 Bulava-30 (in international contracts it is called RSM-56, upon NATO classification - SS-NX-30) has a maximum flight distance of 8 000 km, launch weight - 36,8 t, throw-weight (payload) - 1,15 t.
The missile is capable to carry 6-10 hypersonic maneuverable nuclear modules 100-150 t each guided separately and able to change flight trajectory vertically and horizontally. It has low-altitude flight profile. First-stage and second-stage engines are solid fuel; third stage is liquid-propellant and provides required maneuvering velocity on the stage of warheads separation.
The decision of the missile development was made in 1988; its creation was assigned to Moscow Thermotechnics Institute. Substantial argument for that decision was intention to unify sea-based and ground-based solid fuel missiles and to decrease costs for missile design and production. Bulava is completely unified with ground-based strategic missile system Topol-?.