Alabama rocket builder Bruno: Space exploration ‘will help us to alleviate poverty here on Earth’

United Launch Alliance (ULA) CEO Tory Bruno is providing insight into some of the added benefits of space exploration, as NASA and private sector partners continue to forge ahead with historic plans to form a sustainable presence on the moon and ultimately land Americans on Mars for the first time in the relatively near future through the Artemis program.

ULA produces rockets at its world-class manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama.

In an interview with Axios published on Tuesday, Bruno noted the kind of direct impact to the United States that space exploration could have moving forward.

Axios reported, “Humanity’s future in space will hinge on exploring and mining the Moon and possibly other bodies for resources like water, according to Bruno.”

“At first, it will help us to alleviate poverty here on Earth, but it will also be a great democratization of space where ordinary people are living and working in this cislunar economic region I envision. … My personal role in all of this is to help make this practical through the transportation system,” he said.

At a Yellowhammer News event last year, Bruno said, “I do build rockets here in Alabama, and I wouldn’t build them anywhere else.”

RELATED: ULA’s Tory Bruno: Missions to the moon allow U.S. ‘to be a beacon for freedom in the world’

Bruno has previously explained how the space sector is vital to U.S. national security.

The Alabama rocket builder is the world’s most proven launch services provider, with 100% mission success.

The company is involved in two of the three teams vying to build NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS). The team led by Huntsville-based Dynetics and another team headed by Blue Origin (which manufactures rockets for ULA in Huntsville now) would both utilize ULA Alabama-built rockets for their HLS.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn