Former United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno joins competitor Blue Origin for national security projects

A man in a blue and white suit speaking into a microphone in a NASA press conference. — Tory Bruno, former ULA CEO, (pictured above) has joined Blue Origin to ovresee a new national security group. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

It's official: Tory Bruno, the longtime chief of the launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) has joined the competition.

Bruno, who led ULA for nearly 12 years and oversaw the development of that company's new Vulcan rocket, has joined Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bruno will oversee a newly formed National Security Group at Blue Origin, the company said on Dec. 26.

"Welcome to Blue Origin, Tory Bruno," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp wrote on social media during the announcement. "We share a deep belief in supporting our nation with the best technology we can build. Tory brings unmatched experience, and I’m confident he’ll accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission."

Bruno served as ULA president and CEO since 2014 and watched over the retirement of that company's Delta family of rockets. ULA is a collaborative project by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Bruno also led the company as ULA developed its new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which uses Blue Origin's BE-4 rocket engines on its first stage and is designed to be the company's new workhorse booster.

At Blue Origin, Bruno will apparently oversee the company's national security projects for its massive New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin launched its first two New Glenn rockets in 2025, and successfully landed the first stage of the new booster during a November mission that also launched NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes. The company aims to fly U.S. national security missions alongside flights for commercial and civilian government customers.

"We are going to bring important, innovative, and urgently needed capabilities to our Nation," Bruno wrote on social media. "Can’t wait to get started."

Jeff Bezos welcomed Bruno into the Blue Origin fold with a hearty post on social media.

"Welcome, Tory. Gradatim Ferociter!" Bezos wrote, using Blue Origin's Latin motto "Step by Step, Ferociously."

"Thanks, Jeff," Bruno replied. "We are going to do important work together."

Tariq is the award-winning Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001. He covers human spaceflight, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. He's a recipient of the 2022 Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting and the 2025 Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society. He is an Eagle Scout and Space Camp alum with journalism degrees from the USC and NYU. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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