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When I was a kid, the movie Apollo 13 scared the ever-loving bajeezus out of me.

The huge flames shooting out of the rockets. The weightlessness of space. And the thought that if something went wrong, there was nothing, no one there to help you.

Nowadays, those fears are still there, but they are immensely overcome by my wonder about space exploration and what humanity might look like 10, 100, even 1,000 years into the future.

So you can imagine my giddy, childish excitement as I sat down to hear Salvatore Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance talk about the future of spaceflight that’s emerging right from the heart of Colorado at COIN 2015. He kicked off his presentation quite humbly, I thought, considering the enormous responsibility he and his team are tackling.

“We are America’s ride to space. We are on the cusp of the true commercial potential of space,” Bruno said.

“And Colorado is going to transform it in fundamental ways. We’re getting ready to unleash a new business model that will revolutionize how we transport cargo to space, and allow us to build infrastructure piece by piece in space like never before. In your lifetime, you’re going to see things you haven’t even dreamed of or imagined yet.”

Bruno discussed the tremendous challenges of spaceflight and how to properly motivate a team of engineers who were tasked with achieving this incredible feat.

“It’s all about people,” said Bruno, about how he manages his team at ULA.

“They have such a vast capacity for creativity. And when you want to transform and go after a bright future, you have to paint a picture for your team about what that picture might look like. Then you give them permission to get out of the box and be creative.”

But ultimately, the mission is what kept them together, and allowed them to collaborate even if they were in competing companies.

“I had one of those moments, you know, 5 a.m., in my office thinking about the degree of transformation, and the speed at which we need to accomplish it, was unimaginable,” said Bruno. “But I got to know my team and there was so much pent up energy that I knew they could pull it off.”

Being one year into CEO at ULA, Bruno is still pushing his programs forward, even if he doesn’t receive much help from Washington. But he’s found private partnerships that are helping him and his team to keep innovating. He has spoken with every person in America who’s even sketched a rocket engine on the back of a napkin, and they’re using all that collaborative energy to drive his mission forward.

“It’s all about the mission. That’s what gets me up in the morning. We’re saving lives every day. We’re exploring the universe. We’re pushing the bounds of the human presence.”

It’s a huge mission, and it’s clear that Bruno is the perfect man for the job.

“Coming up with the strategy isn’t the hard part — have a vision, understand the market, that’s easy. The hard part is how to bring your people with you and support the culture change to make that possible.”

“Here on earth today, we toil and struggle in conflict, due to a shortage of resources. Yet right now above our heads, just beyond our grasp, we have resources beyond human imagination,” Bruno said.“It’s all about the mission. That’s what gets me up in the morning. We’re saving lives every day. 

“We’re exploring the universe. We’re pushing the boundaries of the human presence.”