United Launch Alliance orders rocket transport ship from Louisiana builder

Aerospace manufacturer United Launch Alliance (ULA) has entered into agreements with Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana and naval architecture firm the Bristol Harbor Group of Rhode Island to design, oversee, and build a new ship to transport rockets to be used by the US Space Force.

The purpose-built ship will be named SpaceShip. It will transport rockets from the ULA factory in Decatur, Alabama, to launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Ro-Ro vessel will measure 365 feet (111.2 metres) long and will be classed for both ocean-going and river service. Construction has already commenced at Bollinger's facilities in Amelia, Louisiana.

Delivery to ULA is scheduled for January 2026.

SpaceShip will operate alongside RocketShip, ULA's earlier vessel, in transporting rockets to various launch sites. Each ship will have capacity for two examples of ULA's new rocket series.