United Launch Alliance plans to launch the inaugural flight of its Vulcan rocket on Christmas Eve, CEO Tory Bruno told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Tuesday. The Vulcan rocket for the Cert-1 mission stands at SLC-41 during testing in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 12, 2023. ULA's path to the first Vulcan launch faced several delays earlier this year, including the explosion of an engine during testing by its supplier Blue Origin, previously reported by CNBC. Following the incident, Bruno told CNBC in a "Manifest Space" podcast interview that the company still planned to fly its heavy-lift rocket by late 2023. The company added a massive contract to launch Amazon's Kuiper satellites to its previously government-heavy backlog for Vulcan.

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Persons: ULA, Lockheed Martin —, Bruno, Tory Bruno, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Vulcan's, ramping, — CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Michael Sheetz Organizations: Boeing, Lockheed, CNBC Technology, Summit, United Launch Alliance, Vulcan, Cert, SLC, CNBC Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida