Against all odds, United Launch Alliance's sales -- and profits -- are starting to climb again.In November 2024, Tory Bruno, CEO of space giant United Launch Alliance (ULA), had reason to be thankful.Several years prior, Bruno had promised investors he would lower the cost of rockets manufactured by ULA, a joint venture between Boeing (BA 2.16%) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.14%), and price ULA rocket launches competitively with rockets launched by SpaceX. In November, he delivered on that promise, winning 11 U.S. Space Force launch contracts for $118 million each. SpaceX, meanwhile, won 10 launch contracts at an average cost of $120 million.Advantage: ULA.Space math: What's $118 million times 23?It's been a long time since ULA prices were anywhere near competitive with SpaceX prices, but now that they are, ULA is making the most of its opportunity. In a short boast posted on Twitter last month, Bruno revealed that ULA currently has 23 new Vulcan Centaur rockets under construction at its...
