VESSEL REVIEW | Landing Platform Vessel 1 – Booster recovery platform to support Blue Origin's commercial spaceflight programs

US civilian aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight service provider Blue Origin recently took delivery of a new non-self-propelled barge that will be used as a landing platform for the company’s rocket boosters returning to Earth upon the completion of their space missions.

The bespoke vessel has been officially named Landing Platform Vessel 1 (LPV1) and nicknamed Jacklyn after Jacklyn Bezos, the mother of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. The name was originally selected for another vessel that Blue Origin acquired in 2018; however, the company ultimately decided to invest in a purpose-built booster recovery platform instead of a converted freight-only Ro-Ro vessel, as was the case with the earlier Jacklyn (the former Stena Freighter).

Autonomous systems for reduced crewing requirements

LPV1 will be deployed as a sea-based landing platform for Blue Origin’s New Glenn reusable rocket program. The vessel will serve as a solid and secure platform for booster recoveries and will be homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida.

The barge has a length of 380 feet (120 metres), a beam of 150 feet (46 metres), a depth of 22 feet (6.7 metres), and a gross tonnage of 13,818. Autonomous functions have also been incorporated into the barge, though Blue Origin has not disclosed any relevant details other than the fact the vessel will have no embarked crews during the actual booster recovery.

As LPV1 is non-self-propelled, it relies on the support vessel Harvey Stone, which has been retrofitted specifically for towing the barge to and from offshore recovery sites.

Owned by Harvey Gulf International Marine and operated under charter with Blue Origin, Harvey Stone also supported LPV1’s delivery voyage to the United States by towing the barge across the Atlantic from an outfitting and commissioning facility in Brest, France.

Capable of operating in offshore waters

LPV1 was constructed outside the United States, which means it is not a Jones Act-compliant vessel. However, regular operation of the barge by its owner would not violate the act, since the transport of any recovered booster components would originate from beyond the limit of US territorial waters instead of occurring between coastwise points.