
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
This St Nick Truly Can Advise How To Drink And Hack Your Headache - 2
Why the chemtrail conspiracy theory lingers and grows – and why Tucker Carlson is talking about it - 3
Is relief in sight? Flu season still brutal but cases are declining. - 4
Couch Styles of 2024: What's Moving - 5
New movies to watch this weekend: See 'We Bury the Dead' in theaters, rent 'Wicked: For Good,' stream 'The Unbreakable Boy' on Starz
German foreign minister heads to China to talk rare-earth exports
Should you get an RSV vaccine this fall? What to know and where to get a shot
Robert Irwin on winning 'Dancing With the Stars' 10 years after sister Bindi: 'This was everything I dreamed it would be and so much more'
Step by step instructions to Think about Disc Rates Across Various Banks
Hundreds rally in West Bank against Israeli death penalty for Palestinians
Turning into a Distributed Writer: My Composing Process
Netflix is releasing a documentary on Elizabeth Smart. What to know about her kidnapping, rescue and where she is now.
The Development of Shipping: Controlling Towards a More Associated Future
Finding China: Four Urban areas for a Remarkable Excursion











