
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
New dinosaur tracks in Italy illustrate herds moving in unison - 2
Netanyahu leads meeting on West Bank riots, Katz defends axing administrative detention for Jews - 3
Famous Versatile Brands: Your Decision - 4
Coca-Cola Co. and bottlers to invest in South Africa operations - 5
Pick Your Top Method for starting the Morning
Whale stranded off Germany for days found stuck again
Pat Finn, actor from 'The Middle,' dies at 60 after bladder cancer diagnosis
Kids with smartphones by age 12 are at higher risk of health issues, study finds
After toilet and email issues, Artemis II astronauts fire engine to head for the moon
A new mom skipped a routine appointment. An infected cut led to a devastating diagnosis
Choosing Moving Styles for Your Restroom Redesign
Watch comet C/2026 A1 plunge toward the sun online this week
Fiber is something most people could use more of. But experts advise caution with 'fibermaxxing'
The Manual for Electric Vehicles that will be hot dealers in 2023













