Spacepower Podcast EP30: Interview with Tory Bruno, President and CEO, United Launch Alliance
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Dec 19, 2025 
Tory Bruno, President and CEO of United Launch Alliance, discusses the evolution of ULA’s mission and the development of the Vulcan launch vehicle. He highlights the balance between government and commercial projects, including a groundbreaking partnership with Amazon that doubled launch capacity. Bruno elaborates on how commercial missions bolster national security and support R&D. He also talks about the importance of automation and diverse supply chains for future launch capacity, while inspiring the next generation of aerospace professionals through outreach initiatives.
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Commercial Demand Built National Capacity
- Commercial customers like Amazon funded infrastructure expansion that doubled ULA's launch capacity on private money.
- That private demand also drove a quadrupling of U.S. large solid motor production.
Drive Fleet Cadence, Not One-Off Perfection
- Reduce assembly cycle times to shift from one-off rockets to a fleet mentality and increase responsiveness.
- Aim for predictable turnarounds (ULA drives from three months to four weeks and targets three weeks).
From One-Off Qualification To Fleet Operations
- Launch must evolve from exhaustive single-item qualification to a data-driven fleet model for high cadence.
- ULA applies nuclear/missile defense-style volume management to heavy liquid rockets.