Tory Bruno: Is There Really Money in Space Tourism?

United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno chats with Dean Paul Jarley on the state of space exploration. 50 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, rocket launch technology has drastically improved and the prospect of commercial space travel is almost top of mind. Can space tourism really become the multi-billion dollar market that some expect it to be? And are Cape Canaveral and the Space Coast ready for the demand? Is space ready to be the final commercial frontier?

Featured Guests

Tory Bruno - CEO, United Launch Alliance

Episode Highlights

3:18 - How Tory Bruno became CEO of United Launch Alliance

5:48 - How United Launch Alliance came to be

8:42 - What's it like being involved in the space industry during such a competitive time?

12:36 - How much cheaper can rocket launches get?

13:34 - What kinds of companies could be most successful in utilizing space travel?

16:33 - When will humans live and work in space? Engage in space tourism? Get to Mars?

21:27 - What's the most important thing to know about the commercialization of space?

23:20 - Questions from the audience:

Do you anticipate building things in space to avoid loss during launch?

How do you see real property rights being involved in space?

What's it like working with Blue Origin on the Vulcan engine?

Have there been any attempts to develop insurance for spacecrafts?

Does ULA have any plans to develop a heavy lift rocket?

Where did you see the space industry headed when you started your career?

Can you elaborate on the difference between components vs. propulsion?

Why does ULA exist?

34:35 - Dean Paul Jarley's final thoughts

Episode Transcription

Paul Jarley:                         There are certain moments in time that stay with you. I remember where I was 50 years ago today. I was 10 years old. I was on the beach at a lake near my hometown, clutching a radio, and listening to mission control. It was 4:18 in the afternoon when Neil Armstrong said-

Neil Armstrong:                Tranquility Base, here. The eagle has landed.

Paul Jarley:                         The beach erupted in applause.

Paul Jarley:                         This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions. To get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, "Is this really a thing?" Onto our show.

Paul Jarley:                         The race to the moon was a race to glory that brought a much needed boost to democratic capitalism in its Cold War with totalitarian communism. But this was not the first time a group of explorers had set out for glory and to assert the political power of a government patron. Christopher Columbus comes to mind. There what started out as a search for glory, quickly turned to commercial interests complete with conquistadors searching for gold and pirates looking to steal it. Colonization and wars followed. Will history repeat itself? Is space ready to be the final commercial frontier? If so, can space pirates and colonization be far behind? Listen into my conversation with Tory Bruno. He's CEO of United Launch Alliance. In other words, a rocket man. He spoke to a group of business and engineering students earlier this year in The Exchange.

Paul Jarley:                         So how cool is that? So, for my engineering students, this is The Exchange. And the idea behind The Exchange is that we have a speaker in here every day talking to business students about careers, about their career path.