Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has appointed Alexander Selivyorstov as general director of space rocket maker Khrunichev, a Roscosmos source said on Friday.
Selivyorstov formerly held the post of deputy general director.
“The commission has completed its work and appointed Alexander Selivyorstov as general director of the Khrunichev Center. A document appointing him will be signed soon by Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin,” the source said.
Former director Vladimir Nesterov resigned in August after a failed satellite launch that month caused by a failure in a Briz-M booster rocket made by Khrunichev.
Nesterov resigned a day after President Medvedev held a meeting in August with Roscosmos officials demanding a shake-up in the industry, after seven rocket launches failed since 2010. Medvedev demanded to know who was responsible for the failures and “establish the level of responsibility for those guilty.”
A source in the industry told RIA Novosti in September that one of Nesterov’s deputies would replace him and Seliverstov was one of the likely candidates.
According to earlier reports, Selivyorstov was the only candidate to meet the requirements for the job. Roscosmos said that the selection process was still valid even if there was only one candidate.
Khrunichev was set up in 1993, when the Khrunichev rocket factory was amalgamated with the Salyut design bureau. The merger aimed to create a joint design and production facility for rockets for civil use.