Bollinger Shipyards lays keel for ULA’s new SpaceShip

L to R: Chris Ellerhorst, vice president of the Kuiper program, ULA; Tory Bruno, president and CEO, ULA; Dan Caughran, Vice President of production operations & supply chain, ULA; and Ben Bordelon, president and CEO, Bollinger Shipyards.

Bollinger Shipyards yesterday held a ceremony at its Bollinger Marine Fabricators shipyard in Amelia, La., to lay the keel for the future R/S SpaceShip.

SpaceShip is being built for ULA (United Launch Alliance) to transport Vulcan rockets from the ULA factory in Decatur, Ala., to the launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The RO/RO ship is the second transport vessel in ULA’s maritime fleet.

“We’re proud to continue our partnership with ULA in support of their increasing capabilities and launch capacity,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “Bollinger’s skilled workforce is second to none when it comes to designing, engineering and building complex vessels to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, and we look forward to delivering SpaceShip to further ULA’s mission of enabling the future of space exploration.”

ULA’s new Vulcan rocket is contracted for 38 launches to support the majority of the deployment for Amazon’s Project Kuiper LEO satellite constellation, and the keel authenticators were Tory Bruno, president and CEO of ULA, Chris Ellerhorst, VP of the Kuiper program at ULA, and Dan Caughran, VP of production operations & supply chain for ULA.

The 365 foot long SpaceShip is classed for both ocean-going and river service.

“SpaceShip‘s future voyages will transit rivers and seas, delivering powerful rockets to our launch pads and beyond, with that journey continuing literally into space,” said Bruno. “As all rockets are not created equal, the same is true for ships. Bollinger’s legacy of more than 75 years of excellence in shipbuilding is impressive and we are proud to partner with this very capable team.”