ULA CEO Tory Bruno Resigns After Decade-Long Battle with SpaceX

Tory Bruno, the veteran aerospace executive who has ledUnited Launch Alliance (ULA) for over a decade, has resigned from the top job, the company announced Monday. His departure marks the end of an era defined by an intense rivalry with Elon Musk'sSpaceX and a high-stakes effort to reinvent the legacy launch provider.

A Tenure Defined by Competition

The news of Bruno's sudden resignation was unexpected. He took the helm as President and CEO in August2014, arriving from a30-year career atLockheed Martin just asSpaceX began to disrupt the industry with its partially reusableFalcon 9 rocket. His entire tenure was marked by a decline in ULA's market share as the agile competitor competed for and won ever-larger US government launch contracts.

Vulcan's Success and the Path Forward

Under Bruno's leadership, ULA developed its next-generationVulcan rocket, a crucial answer to SpaceX's cost-effective launchers. While Bruno recently oversaw the successful debut of Vulcan, the company has since faced struggles in ramping up the new rocket's launch cadence. His successor will inherit the critical task of proving Vulcan can not only fly, but fly frequently and compete on price.