Save Bollinger Shipyards, a Louisiana-based builder of vessels for commercial, government and military customers, is aiming for the sky. The 79-year-old shipbuilder has been hired to convert a barge into a landing platform for Rocket Lab, a California-based company that’s competing in the commercial spaceflight industry, according to a press release. “We’re looking forward to working with Bollinger to create the conditions to modernize Louisiana’s shipyard capabilities to meet the demands of the aerospace industry’s cutting-edge capabilities,” said Rocket Lab Vice President Shaun D’Mello in a prepared statement. The retrofitting project, which began just before this week's announcement, includes adding thrusters so the waterborne platform remains stable during landings. Special communications equipment will allow employees to control the vessel from afar and blast shields will protect the ship from rocket exhaust. Rocket Lab said the platform, which will be deployed on the East Coast near its Virginia launch site, is key to its plan to establish a reusable rocket program that will compete with those from high-profile spaceflight companies SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk; and Blue Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Ben Bordelon, CEO and President of Bollinger Shipyards. He is the grandson of Donald Bollinger, who founded the company in 1946. Courtesy Bollinger Shipyards “Bollinger is proud to partner with Rocket Lab on a project that showcases both the ingenuity and innovation of American shipbuilding and the future of space flight,” said Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon in a prepared statement. Reusable rockets The new vessel, which was acquired from New Orleans-based Canal Barge in February, has been dubbed “Return on Investment.” Its 400-foot-long landing platform will be built to accommodate Rocket Lab’s Neutron line of reusable rockets, which are designed to carry heavier payloads than predecessors. Rocket Lab said the 141-foot rockets, capable of delivering a 13-ton payload to space, will be used to launch satellites and for national security missions. The work is happening primarily at Bollinger’s shipyard in Amelia, Louisiana. The vessel is expected to be complete and enter service next year. Bollinger, which has manufactured more than 4,000 vessels over eight decades, is one of the largest employers in the bayou parishes and has estimated annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Rocket Lab was established in 2006 by Peter Beck, a rocket-obsessed college dropout in New Zealand. In 2013, he moved the company’s headquarters to Long Beach, Calif. The company has grown by acquisition over the last six years and now has roughly 2,000 employees globally. It’s competing with high-profile companies led by household-name billionaires. SpaceX leads the industry with its reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, a deep-space exploration platform and its Starlink satellite internet service. Blue Origin has made its own breakthroughs in reusable rocket technology, while billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic prioritizes space tourism. Like Rocket Lab, Virgin Galactic is publicly traded. Rocket Lab does a little bit of everything, providing satellite launches, spacecraft design and manufacturing. Yahoo Finance reported the company’s stock reached a new record high this month on the heels of a new deal with the European Space Agency. The company said it has delivered more than 200 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, and one of its spacecraft platforms was selected to support several NASA missions. Bollinger's contract with Rocket Lab is the latest link to aerospace in a region that’s been home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly facility for more than 6o years. There, generations of workers have helped build the engines that have powered the country’s space age. “As commercial space exploration continues to expand so will the need for rocket, satellite and rover recovery, said Josh Tatum, vice president of business growth and retention at Greater New Orleans Inc. “A lot of this activity will be happening out at sea.” Email Rich Collins at rich.collins@theadvocate.com Facebook