Former ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno joins Blue Origin

Blue Origin announced on Friday that Tory Bruno, who left United Launch Alliance four days ago, would head the company’s newly formed National Security Group.

“Tory Bruno is joining Blue Origin as president, National Security, reporting to CEO Dave Limp,” Blue Origin posted on social media.

“Welcome to Blue Origin, [Tory Bruno]. We share a deep belief in supporting our nation with the best technology we can build,” Limp wrote in a separate social media post. “Tory brings unmatched experience, and I’m confident he’ll accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission. Glad to have you with us.”

In addition to Bruno’s work at ULA, which saw the launches of numerous government satellites to a variety of orbits, he previously worked for decades at Lockheed Martin, where he had a hand in a number of weapons systems, like the Air Force’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Reentry Systems, the Navy’s Trident 2 D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) and the Missile Defense Agency’s Terminal High Area Altitude Defense (THAAD).

Bruno was President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Launch Alliance for more than a decade. He led the company through the transition from Atlas and Delta rockets to the Vulcan rocket, which has a first-stage powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines.

That launch vehicle made its debut in January 2024, completed two certification flights and was approved by the U.S. Space Force to launch national security payloads. The first of those payloads, the USSF-106 mission, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 12, 2025.

“I came to ULA to save it from closing back in 2017, field Vulcan, and put it on a solid path. Did that. My Duty was complete,” Bruno wrote in a Dec. 26 social media post. “There is a new set of national security capabilities that need to be created ASAP. Blue is the best place for me to serve that mission.”

Bruno’s transition comes as Blue Origin is finding its footing on the orbital launch front. It’s heavy lift rocket, New Glenn, launched its first two missions successfully in 2025 and managed to land one of its boosters on its recovery vessel, ‘Jacklyn.’

Blue Origin is one of three companies, alongside ULA and SpaceX, that was recognized by the Space Force to be allowed to launch its most valuable and sensitive satellites. The contract, which is officially called National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2, was announced in April 2025, with seven missions planned for assignment to Blue Origin (though no specific missions have been awarded as of yet).

The company, founded by billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, opted for a certification path that will require Blue Origin to launch four successful flights with New Glenn, followed by a thorough data review by the government.

Bruno’s relationship with Blue Origin started in September 2014 when ULA picked Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines to power the Vulcan rocket, which at the time was scheduled to debut in 2019. As history played out, Blue Origin didn’t deliver the first flight engines to ULA until October 2022 and the first flight of Vulcan was delayed until January 2024.

Time will tell what types of government-focused initiatives Bruno will bring to Blue Origin as it looks to flex its muscles as it competes for more of the billions of dollars of national security contracts in the future.