Tory Bruno: ULA Looks Forward to Blue Origin Rocket Engine Tech Partnership in Alabama

Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, has welcomed Blue Origin‘s move to establish a rocket engine manufacturing facility in Alabama.

Blue Origin will join the more than 200 technology suppliers that support ULA operations within the state, Bruno said in a statement released Friday.

“The state of Alabama knows how to attract and help business grow and I could not be more thrilled to be part of the resurgence of rocket and engine development in the Tennessee Valley.”

ULA selected Blue Origin’s BE-4 technology to power the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle designed to send government and commercial satellite missions into space. Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, L3 Technologies and RUAG will respectively provide an upper-stage engine, solid rocket boosters, avionics and payload fairings for integration into the rocket,

Bruno previously said ULA aims to begin Vulcan certification flights sometime in 2021 as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force and launch the platform by mid-2020.