NASA Commercial Crew Archives

Bruno’s Leadership At United Launch Alliance

In his nearly twelve-year tenure, Bruno guided ULA through a sea change in the space industry: first and foremost, ULA lost its near-monopoly in launch services thanks to the rise of SpaceX. Secondly, it was essentially forced to retire its Atlas V rocket due to its Russian-built RD-180 engines on the booster.

Starting in 2024, ULA designed and built the Vulcan heavy-lift booster, with Bruno making the key decision to use Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine. At the time, that decision was a bit controversial: Blue Origin was an unproven company, the BE-4 was in mid-development, unqualified, and not yet in production or sold commercially. ULA and Bruno stuck to their guns, and Vulcan first launched in 2024, becoming the first company to achieve orbit with Methalox rocket engines in so doing.

Vulcan CERT-2 lifts off on October 4, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer

The second launch of Vulcan slowed any momentum the company had. While CERT-2 was a successful mission, one of its GEM-64XL solid rocket boosters experienced an anomaly, resulting in the loss of its nozzle. The ascent continued despite this problem, with the booster burning longer than planned to compensate for the loss of thrust from the defective SRB.

After an investigation and subsequent certification of Vulcan by the US Space Force, ULA launched its first commercial mission aboard the new vehicle in August, which flew straight and true on its way to delivering the USSF-106 payload to orbit.

Bruno also lead the company through the crew-rating process of Atlas V, culminating with the launch of the Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test mission that launch in June, 2024. It was the first time that ULA had launched crew.

Tory Bruno — Positions in the Space Industry
Category	Position / Title	Organization
Launch industry	President & Chief Executive Officer (Aug. 2014 – Dec. 22, 2025)	United Launch Alliance (ULA)
Defense/space programs	Vice President & General Manager, Strategic and Missile Defense Systems	Lockheed Martin
Defense/space programs	Vice President & General Manager, Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Programs	Lockheed Martin
Defense/space programs	Vice President, THAAD Missile	Lockheed Martin
Engineering leadership	Vice President, Engineering	Lockheed Martin
Engineering leadership	Chief Engineer, Strategic Missile Programs	Lockheed Martin
Propulsion	Program Manager, FBM Rocket Propulsion	Lockheed Martin
Engineering	Engineering roles (control systems for rockets and hypersonic reentry vehicles)	Lockheed Martin
Corporate governance	Board Member (former)	Lockheed Martin U.K. Ltd.
Space policy / advisory	Member, National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group	National Space Council
Space policy / advisory	Member, Defense Innovation Board Space Advisory Committee	U.S. Department of Defense
Note: Roles reflect publicly listed bios; many Lockheed Martin positions are commonly cited without consistent start/end dates across sources. As of: [auto] (America/Chicago)

Bruno And Social Media

Tory Bruno has also been a semi-prolific poster on social media, giving updates during countdowns, reposting photos and videos and interacting with the space aficionado community, probably to his own vexation.

Bruno’s commentary will be missed, and personally, this writer hopes Tory continues posting on X and other platforms. Wherever his next destination is, he will surely have worthwhile opinions and updates on his horses.

Next For United Launch Alliance

ULA COO John Elbon was named as the Interim CEO in a press release issued today. John Elbon is the chief operating officer for United Launch Alliance (ULA). Before his new role, Elbon was responsible for the operations of the Atlas, Delta, and Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle programs, including design, engineering, integration, production, quality assurance, and program management.

Before joining ULA, Elbon held the role of vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Programs. There, he oversaw Boeing’s work on NASA’s Commercial Crew Space Act Agreements, including leadership of the first two phases of the Commercial Crew Development program.

NASA and Boeing are advancing the certification process for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft following its Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station (ISS). Joint teams are addressing in-flight anomalies and planning propulsion system tests in preparation for Starliner’s upcoming missions.

Starliner’s Flights Have Been Issue-Filled

Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft encountered several technical challenges that impacted the mission:

Reaction Control System (RCS) Thruster Failures: During the approach to the International Space Station (ISS), multiple RCS thrusters experienced malfunctions. Initially, two thrusters failed, prompting manual intervention by Commander Butch Wilmore. Subsequently, a total of four thrusters became inoperative, compromising the spacecraft’s attitude control.

Wilmore later told Ars Technica that during that phase of flight, “I don’t know that we can come back to Earth at that point. I don’t know if we can. And matter of fact, I’m thinking we probably can’t.”

Clearly, it is an utter imperative for NASA and Boeing to demonstrably resolve these issues prior to any flight, much less a crewed one.
Helium Leaks: The spacecraft experienced multiple helium leaks in its propulsion system. A single leak detected after a launch scrub expanded to three by the time of docking, and eventually, five leaks were identified. These leaks affected the pressurization of the propulsion system, essential for thruster operation and orbital maneuvers.
Extended Mission Duration: Originally planned as an eight-day mission, the CFT was extended due to the aforementioned technical issues. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remained aboard the ISS for over nine months as engineers unexpectedly.
Uncrewed Return Decision: Due to unresolved propulsion system concerns, NASA decided to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth without crew and to return Williams and Wilmore aboard the Crew 9 SpaceX Crew Dragon. The capsule undocked from the ISS and landed safely at White Sands Missile Range on September 7, 2024.

These challenges prompted NASA and Boeing to conduct thorough investigations and implement corrective measures to ensure the spacecraft’s safety and reliability for future missions.

Ken Bowersox, NASA’s associate administrator for Space Operations, emphasized the importance of commercial partnerships: “NASA’s strategy for crew transportation is critical for assured access to space using American private industry.”

He further noted, “Our investment in commercial crew transportation capabilities is providing the needed flexibility to operate in space as safely as possible and respond to changes quickly when they arise. NASA is seeing the commitment from Boeing to adding the Starliner system to the nation’s crew transportation base.”

Data Analysis on Starliner CFT Nearly Complete

Since the uncrewed Starliner capsule’s return from the ISS, NASA and Boeing have analyzed post-flight data. Over 70% of flight observations and in-flight anomalies have been addressed at program-level control boards. Major in-flight propulsion system anomalies are expected to remain under review into 2025, pending outcomes of ground testing and potential system upgrades.

The agencies are finalizing the scope and timelines for propulsion system test campaigns and analyses scheduled for spring and summer. Testing at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico will include integrated firing of key Starliner thrusters within a single service module doghouse. This aims to validate thermal models and inform potential propulsion and spacecraft thermal protection system upgrades.

Operational solutions under consideration involve adding thermal barriers within the doghouse to better regulate temperatures and modifying thruster pulse profiles in flight to prevent overheating. Concurrently, teams are testing new helium system seal options to mitigate the risk of future leaks.

Starliner’s Next Flight: Crewed Or Uncrewed?

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, commented on the testing schedule: “Once we get through these planned test campaigns, we will have a better idea of when we can go fly the next Boeing flight.” He added, “We’ll continue to work through certification toward the end of this year and then go figure out where Starliner fits best in the schedule for the International Space Station and its crew and cargo missions. It is likely to be in the timeframe of late this calendar year or early next year for the next Starliner flight.”

Mission managers are planning for the next Starliner flight to be a crew-capable post-certification mission. However, NASA retains the flexibility to fly only cargo, depending on the agency’s needs.

One person that will not be a part of the next Starliner flight is Boeing Starliner CFT backup astronaut Mike Fincke. He has been assigned to Crew 11 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.