Rocket Lab Corp., Long Beach, Calif., announced it has selected Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., to convert a deck barge for use as a specialized platform to catch at-sea rocket landings.
In February, Rocket Lab announced that it had purchased the 2010-built, 400’x105'x25' barge Oceanus from Canal Barge, Inc., New Orleans, which it renamed Return On Investment.
The company said on Thursday that modification and fit-out of its technology to the barge has begun and is taking place primarily at Bollinger's shipyard in Amelia, La., for scheduled delivery in early 2026.
The Rocket Lab-designed platform will include autonomous ground support equipment, blast shielding for on-deck equipment protection during Neutron landings, and station-keeping thrusters for the platform to hold its position at sea during return-to-Earth missions of its new reusable 141' medium-lift rocket, Neutron, the company said.
Return On Investment will be operated out of the U.S. East Coast to support delivery and return of Neutron rockets to its launch site on Wallops Island, Va.
Increasingly, aerospace companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, The Spaceport Company, and Rocket Lab are leveraging marine assets, such as droneships and deck barges, to capture rockets returning to Earth by landing them on the ocean’s surface for recovery and reuse.
“Neutron’s ability to return to Earth on Return On Investment and launch again and again will be foundational to its success," said Shaun D’Mello, Rocket Lab vice president – Neutron, in a statement. "With Bollinger’s extensive experience in marine engineering and shipbuilding, they have been selected to deliver this critical project. 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.”
Ben Bordelon, Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO, said in a statement, “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. At Bollinger, we’ve spent decades building some of the most advanced vessels in the world. We’re honored to have been selected to bring our deep expertise and experience in marine engineering and fabrication to a program that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible.”
