
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
After nearly 12 years leading the United Launch Alliance (ULA), its chief Tory Bruno is stepping down from the U.S. rocket launch provider to pursue "another opportunity," the company announced this week.
What's that new opportunity? We're not sure yet, but it's guaranteed to be "Something interesting," Bruno wrote on social media after the Dec. 22 announcement.
Bruno took the reigns as ULA president and CEO in August 2014, overseeing the company, a collaboration between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, as it launched its Atlas V rockets and retired its Delta rocket family. He oversaw the development of new booster, the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which ULA plans to use as a workhorse vehicle.
During Bruno's term, ULA fought to contend with launch competitor SpaceX, which successfully landed a Falcon 9 booster for the first time in 2015 to lower costs through reusability. SpaceX now regularly launches and lands Falcon 9 rockets and has flown over 160 times this year. ULA eventually hopes to recover and reuse only part of the Vulcan rocket, its BE-4 first stage engines built by Blue Origin.
"It has been a great privilege to lead ULA through its transformation and to bring Vulcan into service. My work here is now complete and I will be cheering ULA on," Bruno wrote on X.
"Finished the mission I came to do," he added. "Great people. Great rocket. New things coming."
In a statement, Robert Lightfoot and Kay Sears, the ULA board chairs for Lockheed Martin and Boeing, respectively, thanked Bruno for over a decade of service.
"We are grateful for Tory’s service to ULA and the country, and we thank him for his leadership," Lightfoot and Sears wrote in the statement.
ULA's board has appointed Boeing veteran John Elbon as interim CEO as the search for a new leader begins.
"We have the greatest confidence in John to continue strengthening ULA’s momentum while the board proceeds with finding the next leader of ULA," Lihtfoot and Sears wrote.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Jason Kelce opens about wife Kylie Kelce's past pregnancy loss04.12.2025 - 2
Hostile to Maturing Skincare Items to Rejuvenate Your Skin05.06.2024 - 3
‘The White Lotus’ sparked online interest in risky anxiety pills, study says14.11.2025 - 4
Closets for Your Room: Plan and Utility Features06.06.2024 - 5
When fake data is a good thing – how synthetic data trains AI to solve real problems18.11.2025
Your big brain makes you human – count your neurons when you count your blessings
Astrophotographer captures rare footage of the Hubble Telescope crossing the sun (video)
Dear Santa: I want Botox. Why cosmetic procedures are topping holiday wish lists.
Instructions to Pick the Best Album Rates for Your Investment funds
My prescription costs what?! Pharmacists offer tips that could reduce your out-of-pocket drug costs
New dinosaur tracks in Italy illustrate herds moving in unison
Relentless rise in carbon pollution from fossil fuels slightly dampens climate-fighting hopes
Unfathomable and Entertaining Legal disputes That Surprise everyone
Avoid Slam: Exploring the Pickup Truck Transformation













