Tory Bruno

Bruno started with Lockheed as a summer intern while still attending Cal Poly. He worked as a mechanical engineer in the quality assurance organization of the Missile Systems Division. He spent that summer working on various generations of the Fleet Ballistic Missile.[1]

Upon graduation from Cal Poly, he returned to Lockheed as a structures designer working primarily on the Trident I and II missiles. After a few years, he transferred to the mechanical controls group. There, he developed experience in reaction and thrust vector control systems. These were applied to a wide variety of systems including the UGM-27 Polaris, UGM-73 Poseidon, Trident, LGM-30 Minuteman, and LGM-118 Peacekeeper as well as the Lockheed Launch Vehicle. Bruno also briefly supported the Space Shuttle.[1]

Eventually, Bruno joined the advanced programs team where he worked on new rocket technologies, filing patents,[6] trade secrets, and invention disclosures. After several years as a control systems designer and analyst, he transferred to the propulsion department where he became a ballistician and ordnance engineer.[1]

In August 2014, Bruno left Lockheed Martin to become the president and chief executive officer of United Launch Alliance (ULA),[7] a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Bruno's appointment came as ULA was facing increased competition from newer entrants into the space launch industry, especially from SpaceX with their partially-reusable Falcon 9 rocket, in addition to political pressure from the United States Congress to stop purchasing the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines for use on the Atlas V. Under Bruno's leadership, ULA responded to these issues by announcing Vulcan, a new rocket building on the technology of Atlas V and Delta IV, using the BE-4 engine developed by Blue Origin.