Earlier this week United Launch Alliance announced its president and CEO for nearly 12 years, Tory Bruno, was stepping down to pursue different opportunities.

The opportunity was revealed Friday as Bruno was named president for competitor Blue Origin’s newly formed National Security Group, reporting to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp.

“We share a deep belief in supporting our nation with the best technology we can build,” Limp posted on X. “Tory brings unmatched experience, and I’m confident he’ll accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission. Glad to have you with us.”

Bruno, who joined ULA in 2014, said he was excited to join the team.

“We are going to bring important, innovative, and urgently needed capabilities to our nation. Can’t wait to get started.” he posted.

Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos and flies suborbital missions from Texas on its New Shepard rocket, but this year finally got its heavy-lift orbital New Glenn rocket to space as well from Florida.

New Glenn is constructed on the Space Coast at the company’s vast campus on Merritt Island and launches from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36. The company also has cargo and human-capable lunar landers in the works, both of which are manufactured in Brevard County.

Bruno has been one of the most transparent aerospace industry leaders on social media. He continued that approach when describing why he left ULA.

His job was to prevent the rocket company, which is a shared endeavor between Lockheed Martin and Boing, from closing down. He then spearheaded the development of its new Vulcan rocket, a replacement for the Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets that ULA had been flying since the company formed in 2006.

Bruno said he “put it on a solid path. Did that. My duty was complete.”

Regarding his new role, Blue Origin only recently joined ULA and SpaceX as one of three rocket companies eligible for the most demanding national security launches. New Glenn, though, has yet to be certified, despite having flown twice successfully.

“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,” he said.

New Glenn is eligible to receive task orders under the Department of Defense’s five-year National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 contract, a $13.7 billion bucket covering more than 54 expected missions to be awarded between 2025-2029.

The Space Force said the initial breakdown would dole out to SpaceX more than $5.9 billion, ULA more than $5.3 billion and Blue Origin nearly $2.4 billion among more than 54 expected missions.

So far, the first two years of task orders have been announced, and Blue Origin has yet to get one. Its first opportunity to begin cashing in on the lucrative tasks will be for the fiscal year 2027 orders expected to be announced in October 2026.

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command confirmed Blue Origin had opted to perform four launches as part of its certification campaign, so its next two flights, both expected in 2026, would complete that checklist.

“Certification flights are a small subset of the certification process and provide valuable analytical data to ensure each (launch service provider) launch system is ready to deliver our most exquisite USSF satellites supporting critical U.S. warfighters and Intelligence Community needs,” the Space Force stated in a press release.

New Glenn’s first launch came in January 2025 with its second in November, during which it joined SpaceX’s Falcon rockets as the only orbital-class rockets to successfully land a first-stage booster.

Next up for New Glenn could be the launch of the company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander, an uncrewed cargo lander that will remain on the surface. Blue Origin officials had been aiming for its launch initially before the end of 2025, but are now targeting early 2026.

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