ULA selected Peller to be chief executive after a \u201cmonths-long process\u201d that considered both internal and external candidates, said Kay Sears, a Boeing executive who serves on the ULA board, in a statement. \u201cMark\u2019s background, coupled with his extensive knowledge of both ULA\u2019s business and technical offerings, makes him the best candidate to fill the CEO position,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/markpeller.jpg\")
Mark Peller, president and CEO of ULA. Credit: ULA<\/p>\n
Peller has been with ULA and related companies for more than 35 years. He joined Rockwell International in 1990 as a propulsion engineer working on the space shuttle program. Boeing acquired Rockwell\u2019s space business in 1996 and, a year later, Peller joined Boeing\u2019s Delta launch vehicle programs.<\/p>\n
After Boeing and Lockheed Martin merged their launch vehicle programs into ULA in 2006, he became chief engineer for the Delta 2 and Delta 4 vehicles. He was serving as senior vice president for Vulcan and advanced programs at ULA when he was named chief operating officer last December.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored to take on this role leading a truly amazing team of people and appreciate the confidence the board has in me,\u201d Peller said in a statement. \u201cULA has a tremendous history of launching some of the nation\u2019s most important national security and exploration missions, and the future is limitless with the new capabilities and performance of our Vulcan rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vulcan rocket, though, is currently a major challenge for ULA. At a February briefing, Peller said the company was planning 16 to 18 Vulcan launches in 2026<\/a>. However, the first of those launches, on a Space Force mission, suffered a performance anomaly in one of its four solid rocket boosters. The rocket was able to successfully complete the mission but has not flown since.<\/p>\n ULA has performed three Atlas 5 launches this year, most recently July 2, all for Amazon Leo. However, the only remaining Atlas 5 vehicles are reserved for Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle.<\/p>\n During a July 21 earnings call, Northrop Grumman, which produces Vulcan\u2019s solid rocket boosters, said it had taken \u201ccorrective actions\u201d to address the problem seen in the February launch, but added that the redesigned motors may not begin deliveries until the end of the year<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Vulcan hiatus has created financial pressures at ULA. Lockheed Martin said in a July 23 regulatory filing that the grounding was \u201cnegatively affecting ULA\u2019s financial condition\u201d<\/a> and that it agreed to guarantee $500 million in loans to ULA. Boeing said in a separate filing July 28 that it made a similar guarantee to ULA<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cULA\u2019s financial position has been impacted due to the performance challenges associated with the anomaly with the solid rocket booster nozzle experienced on two of the Vulcan launches,\u201d the company said in a July 24 statement, referring to both the February launch and a similar issue seen on Vulcan\u2019s second launch in October 2024.<\/p>\n Even without the solid rocket motor issue, Vulcan might still be grounded. The rocket\u2019s first stage uses BE-4 engines from Blue Origin, which also power that company\u2019s New Glenn rocket.<\/p>\n